Can you tell me who I am?
by liddlepierat
Summary: When some potions explode, Wyatt, Chris and Bianca accidently travel to the future where they have to face the results of their life. OC
1. Chapter 1

**Can you tell me who I am?**

Fandom: Charmed

Allright guys, this is my first fanfic in English and since English isn't my mother tongue I plead you not to kill me for my mistakes;-)

This story begins in "Chris crossed" when Wyatt smashes his brother into the table.

Please review.

**Prolog **

**Future Attic 2027**

"I don't need you."

With that, Chris crushed into the table, the potions shook and dropped to the ground.

Within seconds the whole attic was full of a blue smoke, which flooded around him and the other two.

When the smoke was gone the attic was empty.


	2. Chapter 1:Where are we?

**Chapter one: Where are we?**

**Future Attic 2045**

Coughing, the two brothers and Bianca came to their feet and looked around.

Something was terribly wrong here!

From one second to the other, the attic was suddenly damaged, dusty and abandoned.

Wyatt was the first who found his voice again.

"Whats going on? Where are we?"

Before anyone could answer, suddenly a demon shimmered in.

"Now now, what have we here?", he snickered.

"My queen will be pleased to have you back Christopher."

As he made a step towards Chris, Chris instinctivly waved his hand to throw the demon across the room, but nothing happened.

_Shit, I forgot that my powers are gone._

The demon roared. Then he threw an energy ball at Chris, which hit him on the chest and he fell backwards into the table.

At this, Bianca stepped forward and kicked the demon in the face.

Therewhile Wyatt was fed up! It wasnt supposed to go on like this!

He tried to form an energy ball to get rid of the stupid demon, but found he couldnt.

Damn! His powers werent working, either!

He looked around for the Book of Shadows, but it wasnt there. Just great!

Meanwhile, Bianca had stabbed the demon with a broken leg of the table.

She then turned around and hedded over to her fiance. Chris groaned as she helped him up.

"Who was that demon? How does he know you?", she asked him.

"I have no idea...ugh!", he cried out as she accidently touched his wound.

The pain was nearly unbearable and he sacked to the groung again.

"Sorry", mumbled Bianca as she hold him.

"It doesnt matter who he was.", Wyatt said harshly as he went over to the couple.

"And since our powers dont work and the book is missing lets get out of here before more of them show up."

With that, he grabbed a hold of his brother and carried him piggyback, since Chris was weak from the pain and dizzy.

They headed down the stairs and disappeared into the night.


	3. Chapter 2:Im married?

Allright guys, thank you for your reviews. And here we go with the next chapter.

**Chapter two: Im married?**

**Chris old apartment, night**

"Looks like the old cloaking spells are still intact.", Bianca mumbled as the three of them sneaked into the room. They carefully closed the door and laid Chris on the couch.

"How are you?", she asked as she turned to him.

"Not so good." Chris looked pale and still dizzy. The wound was obviously very bad.

"Okay", Bianca nodded as she glanced at Wyatt.

"Ill go to the kitchen and see if I find something to clean the wound, maybe we should…"

But whatever it was, she couldnt finish the sentence, since there suddenly was a loud shout:

"Hey!"

Wyatt and Bianca spun around to find a man with short black hair and hazel eyes standing in the doorway.

"What the…Wyatt? You are…How…?" the man stuttered, obviously shocked to see him.

Then his look fell on Chris and he immediately rushed to his side.

"Oh my god, what happened?", he asked as he laid his hands on Chris wound and began to heal him. It wasnt the familiar golden glow you know from a whitelighter. In fact it was more like watching how a wound was forming, only backwards.

Suspiciously Wyatt watched the strange guy. "Who are you?"

The man was finished and glanced at him, slightly irritated.

"Im Benji, remember? Your brother-in-law."

All three of them dropped their jaws.

"Im married?!" Wyatt looked shocked at the black haired guy.


	4. Chapter 3:What has happened to me?

**Chapter three: What the hell has happened to me?**

**Chris old appartment, night**

"You were. You are dead, remember? Anyway, how come you are here? Did Chris summon you? And whos that?", Benji pointet to Bianca.

"He's not dead, we are from the past and thats Bianca.", explained Chris.

Benjis eyes widened. What the hell was going on? They were from the past? Oh god, of course they were, Chris looked around 20 years younger. Benji was so shocked and focused on healing that he didnt realized it, till now. And the woman...wait a second, Bianca? Chris ex-girlfriend? But when they were from a time when she still was alive, that would mean that they didn't knew each other yet! Crap! He had just revealed them half of their future!

_Shit! Chris is so going to kill me!_ At the last thought, he went pale.

Wyatt, who had been looking stunned at him the whole time, finally managed to choke out:

"But... that cant...Im...How?" He looked anxiously at Benji, as did the other two.

Benji looked down to his feet.

"Cant tell you.", he mumbled. "Future consequences."

"Oh please don't give me that crap!", Wyatt snapped. This guy sounded exactly like Chris!

"What the hell has happened to me?"

Benji sighed. He knew how stubborn Wyatt could be, he wasn't going to drop it until he told him what he wanted to know and as Chris was obviously as curious as his brother, Benji saw no point in arguing with them.

He was about to reply, when they suddenly heared a very familiar voice calling for him from the other room.

"Benji?"

All of them turned around to see a man in his late 30s standing at the doorframe, his emerald green eyes looking alarmed at the people from the past.


	5. Chapter 4: I was hurt?

_Hey guys, __guess whos back! Sorry for taking so long, I had problems with my internet access._

_Al__right, since now there a two Chris in this story, Future Chris will be the bold one._

_Many thanks for the reviews. And so we go on:_

**Chapter four:**** I was hurt?**

**Chris old apartment, night**

Chris, Benji cried out as he rushed over to him.

"You okay, man? How went it?"

"I'm fine.", **Chris** responded, his eyes not leaving the three people from the past.

Looking from one to the other, he finally stopped at the sight of Wyatt. For a moment, you could see a hint of pain on his face. But as quickly as it came, it was gone.

"How come you are here?", he asked calm.

"Potion accident.", his younger self answered.

Seeing Future Chris curious look, he added: "My dear brother crashed me into a table. As the potions on top of it dropped, they created a kind of blue smoke. And as it was gone we were here."

"I see. Seems like you are from the time when my dear fiancée over there dragged me back from the past." His older self showed a sad little smile as he remembered those times.

"It's not like I had a big choice, you know.", Bianca murmured as she glanced at Wyatt.

"Yes I know." ,came **Chris** reply.

"So, now that this is clear...would **anybody** tell me how come I'm dead?!" Wyatt hissed.

"You told him?!" **Chris** looked at Benji with killing eyes. "Have you ever heared of future consequences?!"

"Yes, about thousand times.", Benji answered in a sarcastic tone.

Chris looked like he was going to hit him any second.

The younger man felt, that he had to defend himself.

"Look, I'm sorry but I first didn't know they are from the past. I thought you had summoned your brother, or something like that. And you were hurt! I really had other things in mind than to worry about that."

"I was hurt?" Chris turned to his younger self. "Why? What happened to you?"


	6. Chapter 5: Send us back?

_Alright, calm down my fans! Here's the next chapter. Can't let poor little __fairyofmusic die of suspence , now can I? Who am I kidding, of course I can! But I don't want to – at least not yet._

_So fairy, this is for you:_

**Chapter five: Send us back?**

**Chris old apartment, night**

"Yeah, by some filthy demon." ,Chris replied. "He said something about a queen, who would be pleased to have me back. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Queen?", snorted Benji "Yeah right, queen my ass! That damn bitch just doesn't give up, now does she?"

"Have you vanquished him?", **Chris** asked with concern.

"Yeah, he's gone."

"Good. That means nobody knows you are here, just Benji and me, right?"

"Yeah, I think so". Wyatt answered suspiciously.

"Great. Then we have a chance to send you back and..."

"Send us back?", Wyatt interrupted "No. I'm not going back before you have explained some things to me like who this queen is or why I'm dead and don't you dare give that 'future consequences' crap!"

Once again you could see a hint of pain in **Chris** eyes. He sighed. Then he straightened himself and looked his brother deep in the eyes.

"She's your murderer."


	7. Chapter 6: Who are the twins?

_Hey guys, thank you for the reviews. But I won't write longer chapters__ any time soon. We are still at the beginning of the story – and I can't give away too much yet, can I? No, I prefer teasing you guys a little bit more;-)_

**Chapter six:**** Who are the twins?**

**Chris old apartment, night**

"What?!" All three people from the past looked gob smacked at **Chris**.

"How…how could this happen?" **Chris** let out another sigh.

"I don't know exactly – well, no one does, except for her. But she would rather bite off her tongue than to admit it!" **Chris** tried to suppress the anger in his voice – and failed.

"Wait a second, when this queen murdered him, why wouldn't she brag about it?", his younger self now joined the conversation. "Why deny, that she defeated the most magical being in the world?"

"With all of Wyatt's old followers still around that wouldn't be the best move."

"Explain this better!"

"There are still many people out there, who saw Wyatt as their leader – too many, to be concrete. They only accept her as his replacement until the twins are ready."

"And it definitely wouldn't help her to get to the 'love of her life'." , Benji mumbled under his breath.

Wyatt, who had heared him, gave him a curious look, but Benji didn't seem to notice.

"Who are the twins?", Bianca asked.


	8. Chapter 7: How did you knew?

_Ok guys, here we go:_

**Chapter seven: How did you knew?**

**On the road, night**

Nicky smiled. The blonde 14-year-old with the hazel eyes sat in the back of the car and listened to the excited voices of his parents and his best friend Brian, a tall boy with messy brown hair.

Today they had their last school day and now they were on there way to grab a pizza and to celebrate six weeks of freedom and fun, which were to come.

"So, now that we are finally free, what do we do tomorrow? How about we go to Vicky's party? Or we could go to the movies. I'd really like to see that new film with Cassie Vendera and Aaron O Dale."

Nicky laughed. "Cassie Vendera? Are you kidding me?"

"Hey, she's a hot actress. I swear, that woman has something…I just can't put my finger on it."

"But you'd like to, now wouldn't you?"

Everyone laughed. Suddenly, Nicky got a huge headache.

"Oh no!", he thought, "Please not now!"

Then he saw it:

_The traffic light switched to green. They drove to the middle of the crossroad. All of a sudden, there was a green car to their right, driving with an insane speed. He heard his mum screaming as the car hit them with full force in the side._

Nicky opened his eyes in shock. He was pale and shivering. He looked around. They were standing at the crossroad!

The traffic light was still red. Then it switched to green.

"No!", Nicky screamed. "Stop! Don't drive!"

Stunned, his father slammed on the brake and turned around.

"Nicky, what the…"

"Oh my god!", his mother screamed as at the same moment a green car drove with full speed over the crossroad.

All of them knew that it would have hit them, if Nicky hadn't caused his dad to stop the car.

Brian was the first who recovered from the shock.

"How did you knew?", he asked as he stared wide eyed at his friend.

Nicky didn't answer.


	9. Chapter 8: And what about the other?

_Sorry, it's been a while. I had once more trouble with my internet access._

**Chapter eight: And what about the other?**

**Chris old apartment, night**

**Chris** and Benji grinned at each other.

"Tell me!", Wyatt frowned. "What twins are you talking about?"

**Chris** looked sheepishly at his brother. "Your twins.", he answered.

"I'm a daddy?!"

Seeing Wyatts gobsmacked face, **Chris** and Benji couldn't hold it anymore and bursted out laughing.

Bianca turned to her boyfriend. "Looks like you are going to be an uncle." Chris didn't know what to say. For the first time in a long while he was speechless.

"Yeah." Benji answered. "And it's a full time job, right **Chris**?"

**Chris** didn't even listen to him. He had this concerned far away expression on his face, that Benji had seen so often during the last few years, like he was listening to something only he could hear.

"**Chris**", he asked worried. "What is it?"

"It's Nicky. He's scared."

"Is he in danger?"

"No. I think he got a vision again."

"Oh, boy."

"I see you later."

"Be careful."

"You know me."

"That's why I'm saying this."

"Very funny." And with that, **Chris** orbed out.

"Where did he go?" Wyatt asked.

"He went to check on Nicky."

"Nicky?"

"Your son. One of the twins. We protected him for the last thirteen years."

"And what about the other?"


	10. Chapter 9: Why was it after me?

_Hey guys, it's been a while. But with a week of testpapers and prepairing reports, there wasn't much time to go on with my story. So here's the next part:_

**Chapter nine: Why was it after me?**

**Street in L.A., night**

Alex was on the run.

When he left the club 20 minutes ago, there was this creepy guy – no demon – that came after him.

Now he was running through one of the worst parts of the city. Old houses with broken windows, some homeless persons here and there. Not that they would help him.

He rounded the corner of an abandoned house and found himself standing in a dirty alley.

As he heard the footsteps of the thing behind him, he quickly ducked behind one of the few containers, which were standing on the left.

Just a few seconds later, a man headed around the corner. He was dressed all in black, and he looked alarmed up and down the alley, as if he was searching for something.

When he held his hand out, an energyball appeared in it. Slowly he began walking into the alley.

"Come out kid, I know you are here somewhere."

Alex was holding his breath when the man passed his shelter. Now facing the guy's back, he reacted quickly.

The blond teenager jumped out of the shelter and streched his hand out. Hot flames shot from his handpalm, but he didn't feel any pain.

The man spun around, revealing black eyes, only to find himself screaming as he went up in flames, his energy ball along with him, leaving a black scorchmark on the ground.

Alex let out a sigh of relief.

"God, I hate these things!", he thought.

Shaking a bit, he leaned himself against the wall.

"Why was it after me? Maybe I should call Chris and Benji."

He fished his MMCP-Player out of his leather jacket and dialed Chris number.

_Don't worry, I will explain this thing further in the next chapter._


	11. Chapter 10: You think we should?

_Hi, sorry for taking so long. This month makes me go nuts every year! Im just glad I managed to update again before Christmas.Thank you all very much for your reviews! Since my computer will need the holidays for repairing, this chapter is going to be the last one this year. That's why I made it longer than usual. Just take it as a little Christmas present ;-)_

**Chapter ten: You think we should?**

**Chris old apartment, night**

Benji was about to answer when they suddenly heard loud rock music coming from the inside of his jacket.

"What's that?", Chris asked.

"My MMCP-Player.", Benji answered.

Bianca send him a curious look. "Your what?"

"MMCP-Player."

Seeing their blank faces, he added "Multi-Media-Camera-Phone-Player. You know, something like a crossover between a computer and a mobile phone."

"Oh" ,came the similar answer from the three people from the past.

Shaking his head amused, Benji reached into his pocket and pulled out a little thing that looked a bit like a mini-laptop.He opened it. On the display you could read: ALEX CALLING...

"Speaking of the devil..." Benji mumbled and pressed a button.

On the display appeared the image of a young teenager with short spiky blond hair and hazel eyes.

"Yep, that's definitively Wyatts kid." Chris thought as he and Bianca stood next to his brother and Benji while he glanced at the 'Mini-Wyatt' on the screen.

"Hey", Benji said. "How's it going? You ok?"

"For now.", came the reply.

Alex took a look at the people around Benji. One of them seemed to be Chris, through he appeared to be a lot younger than usual. And the blond man beside him...

"Look, if you are busy..." Alex started, but was interrupted by Benji:

"No, it's ok. That are friends of mine. You can trust them. They know about everything."

At that, the boy gave him a short nod.

"So, what did you mean when you said for now?"

Alex sighed. "There was one of this..demons. It looked like a man. He followed me when I left the club."

"Oh my God, are you alright?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I vanquished his sorry ass!", Alex grinned. Little did he know that on the opposite housetop stood two figures who watched him carefully.

"How did you do that?", Benji asked.

"I burned him."

"Ata ata boy!"

"Bite me!"

Benji gave a short laugh, before he turned serious again. "Have you any idea how it found you, or why it came after you?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that. I already tried to contact Chris, but he didn't answer."

"Yeah, he's...busy right now."

"Isn't he with you?" Alex asked as he glanced at the young man with brown hair standing next to Benji.

"Yes – no, that isn't Chris, well, at least not our Chris, it's...complicated."

By hearing Alex saing Chris name, the two figures on the housetop shared a look.

"Has the kid just said Chris?", one of them asked his companion.

"Yes, I think so."

"Do you think he has contact to him?"

"Probably."

"You think we should?"

"Yes, go."

And with that, the other one shimmered out and back in right next to Alex.


	12. Chapter 11: What's wrong with your power

_Hey guys, the holidays are over and my computer is repaired! So here's the next chapter:_

**Chapter eleven: Whats wrong with your powers?**

**Street in L.A., night**

Alex was confused. He wanted to ask Benji what was going on, when suddenly one of these demons appeared next to him and tried to grab him.

Shocked, he let go of his MMCP-Player and jumped back to avoid the demons outstretched arm. When the thing went forward to grab him he quickly ducked and kicked him in the gut.

The demon let out a surprised yelp and fell backwards.

**Chris old apartment, night**

Alex suddenly vanished from the display and a few seconds later you could hear a yelp.

"Alex? Alex, what's going on? Answer me! Alex? Damn!" Benji put the MMCP-Player on the next desk and grabbed Wyatts arm.

"You, come with me!" And with that, both of them disappeared in what looked like a white spiral.

Chris and Bianca quickly shared a look and nodded towards each other. Then Chris snatched the MMCP-Player from the desk. They both stood there staring at the blank display and concentrated on the background noises coming from the small gadget.

**Street in L.A., night**

The demon was fed up! Angry, he threw himself at the boy just as a white spiral appeared a few meters behind the kid.

Alex saw what was about to come and let himself fall backwards to the ground. He used the speed of the demon against him and threw him over his body.

When Wyatt and Benji appeared in the alley they rarely had time to jump at the side as a demon went flying at their direction.

They both jumped back to their feet just as the demon hit the ground hard.

However, he was quickly back up again and threw an energy ball at one of the two intruders.

"Wyatt, watch out!" Benji screamed as the energy ball went flying towards his brother-in-law.

Wyatt stood there paralyzed. Oh how he needed his force field right now, but unfortunately, his powers didn't work in this time. He then was being pushed to the ground just in time. Alex had reacted quickly and had thrown himself at the blonde man, making them both fall to the ground just before the energy ball could hit them.

Benji could tell something was definitely wrong. Why hadn't Wyatt used his force field? He would ask him about that later, right now there was an ugly demon to vanquish.

He jumped forward and threw a punch at the demon. The thing blocked and used his outstretched arm to shove him backwards. Benji reacted quickly and grabbed it with his other arm and pulled it with him to the ground. Then he flipped it over and put his hands on the creatures head.

The demons eyes widened in surprise and pain as the witch above him grabbed his head and suddenly his whole body started to rot, until there was nothing but the remains left. When Benji stood up they turned into ash.

Wyatt and Alex stood there both staring at their friend. Alex was frightened, Wyatt was surprised. Although he was a witch and the ruler of the magical world, he never had seen anything like this in his whole life.

He was about to ask Benji about it when the black haired guy suddenly turned towards him and shot him a not very friendly look.

"What's wrong with your powers?", Benji demanded to know.

Wyatt raised an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong with my powers? I'm in the future, that's what's wrong! My powers don't work in this time. Maybe the spell hasn't brought them to the future, too, or something like that."

"And that are you telling me now?!", Benji growled. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?! I wouldn't have brought you in danger if I had known you aren't able to defend yourself!"

"Hey guys, don't you think that maybe we should talk about this at a safer place?", Alex interrupted them.

Benji looked at him for a second, then he sighed and nodded.

"Alright kiddo, let's get us somewhere safe." He then stretched out his hand, waiting for the boy to take it.

Alex hesitated a moment, thinking about what he saw Benji do earlier. Then he pushed that thought aside and took it.

After holding Alex hand in his own, Benji once more grabbed Wyatts arm and they disappeared again in a white spiral.

On the housetop, the demon who had watched the whole thing smirked and shimmered away. His queen would be very pleased about the information.


	13. Chapter 12: Darling, who is this?

_I know, I know, it's been a while. Sorry but my teachers are torturing me with the trial exams:-( THX for the reviews! So, here we go once more:_

**Chapter twelve: Darling, who is this?**

_Meanwhile by Nicky... _

"Nicky, please honey talk to us!"

Nicky was simply staring out of the window. He didn't want to turn around and face his parents. He couldn't. After bringing Brian home, the family was now sitting in the living room. His parents were pleading for at least half an hour now to explain them how he did know about the crazy driver.

Well, at least his mom did. His dad was looking at him with...well, concern, but there was something else in in his look, something he couldn't put his finger on it. Was it... knowledge?

For a moment, Nicky could swear that his dad knew exactly what was going on. But that was impossible. How would he know about his visions? About the weird stuff that happened sometimes around him? Nicky didn't tell him and he wouldn't. What should he say?

_Hey guys, I have visions?_ Of course not! One word about his powers and his parents would think he was insane, or completely freak out. Probably both.

"God, why me? Why can't I be normal just like everyone else?", he thought.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. His parents looked surprised at each other. Who could this be at this time? His father stood up and went to the front door.

He opened the door to reveal a man in his late 30's, with messy brown hair and stunning green eyes looking thoughtfully at him. He recognized the stranger immediately.

"Chris? You were the last person I expected. Come on in. How are you?"

Chris gave him a little smile and stepped in. "Im fine, thanks Jesse."

"What'cha doing here?"

"Watching over Nicky."

Jesses jaw dropped slightly while he closed the door. "How did you know...wait, are you able to sense when he's in trouble?"

"Sort of, yeah. What happened?"

"Im not sure."

"Darling, who is this?", came suddenly the voice of Jesses wife from the doorway. A second later she was standing there, a shocked expression on her face as she too recognized the newcomer.

Jesse could tell that she was thinking of a time 13 years ago. When they so desperately tried to get a child but nothing worked. And then there was this night that changed their life forever. The night, when Chris appeared and pleaded for them to take care of Nicky.


	14. Chapter 13: Are you ok?

_Alright, I'm back again. And yes, here's the next chapter;-)_

**Chapter thirteen: Are you ok?**

**Underworld, night**

Jerek bowed in front of his queen. She towered imperially over him, her sparkling dark eyes narrowed. She really was the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

After watching his companion die by the hands of the witches, he had come immediately back to the manor to inform his queen. He knew how much she graved for this information – and he was the one to give it to her, he thought proudly.

"My queen, I have important news about the Halliwells."

She glanced at him for a moment, before she spoke imperially to the other demons in the room. "Leave us alone!"

The guards didn't need to be told twice, they quickly made an exit.

"Cowards", he thought.

After they were gone she turned her attention back to him. "What do you have to say?"

"My queen, I believe I found one of the twins."

"Oh, you believe.", she asked in her sing sang tone.

He knew she was the most dangerous when she spoke like that. One wrong word now and she would kill him without a second thought. He swallowed.

"Well, he has the right age, he can shoot flames like Isabelle and I heard him and two other witches talking about Chris."

"Chris?" She looked at him surprised.

He didn't miss the way her eyes did light up when he said the name.

"I think they are in contact."

"Then why didn't you bring the boy here?", she demanded to know.

"He was protected."

"Protected?" She snorted. "Protected by whom?"

"By the other two witches."

"Oh", she said dangerously calm. "And you're not able to defeat two stupid witches?" The sarcasm in her voice couldn't be overheard.

"Of course! But this weren't two random witches! One of them was Benji and…", he paused a moment, "I think…, well, the other one looked very similar to Wyatt."

**Nicky's bedroom, night**

Nicky had used the opportunity to sneak out of the living room into his own. He was more than glad to get away from his parents permanent questions. He lay on his bed glancing up at the ceiling.

His powers were just something he couldn't discuss with anyone. Which was bad. Very bad. He so needed someone he could talk to. Someone who wouldn't freak out and call him insane. Someone who would understand.

And there it was again. The old familiar feeling of loneliness. It was really ironic. Nicky was popular, had many friends and his parents were always there for him. So he actually had a lot of people who cared about him, but despite that all, he felt lonely. The boy sighed.

Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door. "My parents.", he thought.

But when the door opened, there was a man standing in the frame. Avery familiar man! He looked at him with those thoughtful green eyes, just like he did when they first met.

_flashback_

_6-year-old Nicky sat on the swing of the playground. He swung happily back and forth, when suddenly he started to get a massive headache. He clinched his eyes shut._

_Then he saw a little girl in a pink dress chasing after her ball, which was rolling on the street. She didn't notice the car that was just a few meters away. The lady in the car slammed immediately on the break, but it was too late. There was a loud crash and a scream and then Nicky opened his eyes again to find himself on the ground beneath the swing._

_That's when he first saw him. A young man with messy brown hair and green eyes bent over him and studied him carefully._

_"You ok?", he asked._

_Nicky was to confused to answer, he looked around frantically. Then he saw her._

_A few meters away from him stood two little girls around his age. One of them was the little girl in the pink dress. She was playing ball with her friend. The other girl threw the ball to her. She tried to catch it, but failed and the ball rolled on the street. She ran after it._

_Nicky immediately knew what was about to happen._

_"No", he screamed after her. "Stay here." But she didnt hear him._

_He was too shocked to move, but the man next to him seemed to catch on quickly. He chased after her and managed to grab her and pull her of the street just seconds before the car passed the ball._

_end flashback_

It wasn't the last time Nicky had seen him. In fact, that guy appeared and disappeared in his life every once and a while, as a matter of preference when he was scared, upset or had a premonition.

And now he was here, standing right in front of him.

"Are you ok?", the man asked.


	15. Chapter 14: What problem?

_I know, I know, it's been a very long time since I last updated. But I promise you I will complete this story, even if it takes some time!_

_Thanks again for the reviews. I'd like to get some more, though. Since this is my first ff in English I need to be reminded of my mistakes._

_And to answer to the last reviews: Yes, Nicky and Alex are Wyatt's kids. Just look at the previous chapters._

_So, here we go again:_

**Chapter fourteen: What problem?**

_Previously on CYTMWIA:_

_And you re not able to defeat two stupid witches? The sarcasm in her voice could not be overheard._

_Of course! But this weren't two random witches! One of them was Benji and…, he paused a moment, I think…, well, the other one looked very similar to Wyatt._

_It wasn't the last time Nicky had seen him. In fact, that guy appeared and disappeared in his life every once and a while, as a matter of preference when he was scared, upset or had a premonition._

_And now he was here, standing right in front of him._

_"Are you ok?", the man asked._

**The ****queen's manor, night**

Lara stood in front of the large window in her bedroom, watching the movement of the waves of the ocean. It somehow calmed her down. And god knew she needed this right now! She had had a lot of stress lately. Of course, being the queen of the whole magic world wasn't an easy task.

Sometimes she wondered how her former brother-in-law was able to cope with this. How he managed to defeat his throne against all those greedy creatures that wanted to steal it.

Well, she thought with a smile, he didn't. She had made sure of that.

But now Jerek claimed he was back and – worse, he was with one of his sons. These little brats were such a nuisance! If it weren't for them, she wouldn't have to deal with all those annoying old followers of Wyatt, who considered her just as the replacement until his heirs were old enough to take their rightful place.

Not that she would let that happen! The throne was hers - and hers only! And she certainly wasn't going to give it to anyone! After all, she was the sister - well, half-sister, of the former queen. But Isabelle was gone and nothing would bring her back.

If she was honest, a part of her missed her. But that didn't mean she felt responsible for any of her offspring! In fact, the only reason she hadn't killed the twins was Chris – in more ways than one, she thought bitterly.

In the past thirteen years she hadn't been able to find either of the boys thanks to him. She had to admit, he protected them really well. Not that he had to. Hell, she even would accept to raise the little brats if that would get him to be with her. Which was exactly the reason why she had sent Jerek to find the one he came across. Lara was sure if she managed to get at least one of her nephews on her side, she could get Chris on her side, too. She just had to play the nice "Auntie Lara" until she got Chris to marry her. Once they would have their own kids, the twins would become redundant.

But now it seemed that Wyatt was back. That couldn't be! She had checked earlier up on him. Of course, he still was where he belonged. So how was this possible?

**Nicky's bedroom, night**

"No", came Nicky's reply.

And then he lost it: "I just had a premonition of me and my parents getting killed and managed just in time to stop it and now my parents are asking me permanently how I'd done it and I have absolutely no idea how the hell I should explain it to them, let alone all the other weird stuff that happens around me! And I've absolutely no clue why it happens to me of all people, I mean, why can't I be normal, just like everyone else!" At his last words, Nicky was nearly crying. 

"Now you sound exactly like my mom." Chris smiled sadly and sat next to his charge on the bed. He could tell that the poor kid was at the moment very scared and confused.

Carefully, he put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him near him. Inconspicuous, he rested his hand at Nicky's back. Soon, the familiar golden glow appeared in his palm. Chris knew he couldn't heal misery – hell, if he could he had already done that to himself a million times – but it had at least a soothing effect, that apparently seemed to work. He felt the kid relaxing against him.

Nicky calmed down a little. He didn't know why, but somehow that man had a calming effect on him. Finally, he pulled himself together and asked what he had wanted to know for a long time:

"Who are you? What are you? How come you are always there when I'm..."

"Miserable?" Chris completed his question.

Nicky nodded.

"My name is Chris – and I'm your whitelighter, I can sense if you need me."

Seeing Nicky's curious look, he added: "Kind of like a guardian angel for witches. It's my job to look after you."

"Witches", Nicky repeated "I'm a witch?"

After a short moment he added to himself: "Why I'm surprised? I can look in the future. I should have seen it coming."

Chris grinned. "Well, actually you are part whitelighter yourself, but that's another story."

"Great", muttered Nicky, "Just great!"

Chris gave a short laugh. "You are taking this better than I expected."

The kid gave him a look.

"What am I supposed to do? Should I freak out and run around the house, screaming: Oh my God, oh my God?"

Chris bursted out laughing. The kid reminded him very much of Isabelle. That woman had the same easy-going attitude. He then confessed:

"Actually, I would pay a lot of money to see that!"

"I bet you would!", Nicky grinned.

They remained in silence for a short while.

Finally, Nicky spoke again: "Still, that doesn't solve the problem with my parents."

"What problem?"

"Haven't you listened? How am I supposed to explain them this whole "witch" thing?"

Chris turned serious. "I suggest you start talking to your dad. He can help you explain it to your mom."

"But he will freak out!"

"No, he won't." , Chris declared. Seeing Nicky's questioning look he added: "Your dad has some secrets himself. You would be surprised how much he knows. Trust me, you can talk to him."

Sensing Nicky's relief, Chris asked with a smile: "So, you're ok now?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good." The man than stood up. "I think it's best if I leave now. You and your parents have a lot to talk about."

"Wait, when do I see you again?" The thought of his guardian angel leaving now made Nicky somewhat nervous.

Chris looked at him and smiled reassuring. "If you need me, I'll be there."

"And what if you don't?"

"Alright, if you need me just call out my name loud. Then I'll come. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Great. Now it's time for me to go. Good luck with your parents." With that, Chris orbed away, leaving a stunned Nicky behind.


	16. Chapter 15: What has Chris told you?

_Thank you very much for the reviews! So, I made this chapter a bit longer than the last. Hope you like it:_

**Chapter ****fifteen: What has Chris told you?**

**Chris old apartment, night**

Chris and Bianca turned to the white spiral that was forming in the middle of the room. Soon it turned into Benji, Wyatt and the kid from the display. The boy swayed a little.

"Wow", the teenager stated. "A roler coaster is nothing compared to that."

Benji chuckled. "Don't worry you'll get used to this."

"You ok?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for my guts to arrive.", Alex replied as he held on to the couch for support.

Wyatt couldn't help but grin a little_. _"Looks like my son is taking slightly after his uncle.", he thought. Then he took a more careful look at the – no, **his** boys appearence. Everything about the kid was screaming "rebell" – from his short spiky blond hair to his black jeans, heavy boots and the red, worn-out sleeveless shirt. He didn't even wear a jacket, despite the cold outside. However his thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Benjis look.

"What happened?", Chris asked worried. "We could hear noises of a fight."

Benji shot him a questioning look. "How?"

"Through that little gadget here.", Bianca answered as she held up the MMCP-Player.

Seing the thing, Alex cursed out loud. "Shit! I forgot mine in that alley! Mom is going to kill me! I have to go back and get it!"

"Forget it!" Benji replied grimly. "I won't let you go back to that place! What happens if more demons appear there?"

"Actually, I would rather face a demon than my mom!", came the stubborn retort.

Chris and Wyatt exchanged a look. No one knew better than them what it was like to face an angry mother.

"She's not that bad!"

"And how would YOU know about that?"

"Because I know her!"

Alex looked stunned at Benji. He only knew him and Chris for some time now. And only because they saved his life that one time. Hell, his mother didn't even know he was a witch, did she? So how come Benji knew her?

"What?!", was the only question he was able to make.

Benji could have kicked himself. He was just as short tempered as his sister had been.

"Nothing.", he murmured. "Forget it."

"Forget it? Sorry but no chance! How come you know my mother?", Alex asked suspiciously.

"Alex...", Benji started but the teen interupted him. "Don't you 'Alex' me now, how come you know her?"

Great, Benji thought. Just fucking great! The boy sounded exactly like his mother. He could clearly remember Isabelle looking at him the same way when she thought he was hiding something from her; eyes narrowed, with a frown on her pretty face. God, she had been like dog with a bone, wouldn't let it go until he spilled. And the way his nephew was looking now at him he had inherited that attitude. Add that to the familiar Halliwell stubborness and it was clear that Alex would pester him until he got what he wanted.

Benji sighed defeated. "I safed her life that one time. The house where she lived in back than was haunted. There was an evil spirit there, killing anyone who dared to come into his house. That was some nasty thing. I barely managed to burn its bones. If had been a little bit slower be both would be dead by now."

"Oh.", was all Alex could say. Now he regretted asking. It was clearly not a nice memory. Maybe that's why his mother had never told him about Benji.

"Anyway", Benji continued, trying to change the subject. "That's beside the point. We have other things to worry about."

"Like what?" Wyatt asked.

"Like what? Oh, well...I don't know, maybe how come your powers are not working?" The black haired guy asked wryly.

Wyatt angrily rolled his eyes. One smart ass in the family was enough. "I already told you it has to be because of the time travel. Chris powers don't work either."

"Time travel?" Alex interfered. Nobody payed attention to him.

"Yeah, but that's because he's still alive in this time. Only one set of powers can work at a time." Benji argued. "But you are dead. You should be able to use them."

"He's dead?", Alex asked shocked. This man didn't look dead at all!

"If I was Bianca would be able to use her powers, too!" Wyatt scolded. Then after a pause, he turned to the Phoenix. "You aren't able to use your powers, right?"

Bianca, taken aback, looked at him confused. "I guess so. Since you said our powers aren't working I didn't even try."

"Then do it now!" The twice blessed commanded.

Shooting him a dark look she concentraded. After a second, a fireball appeared in her hand. All people in the room stared at her.

"There! What did I say?", Benji called.

Wyatt was confused. "But I don't understand... why aren't my powers working?"

"Isn't that obvious? Seems like you aren't dead." Chris stated matter of factly.

"Would somebody please tell me what's going on?", Alex interfered again.

Benji was staring gobsmacked at Wyatt.

At that moment, future Chris orbed in.

"Ok, Nicky is...Alex!", he cried out at the sight of the young teen standing in his living room.

**Nicky's house, night**

Jesse sat in the living room in his favorite arm chair. His wife went to bed half an hour ago. After the shock of todays events finally began to wear off he had decided to relax a little and switched on the tv. He was watching a quiz show when he caught a movement out of the glimpse of his eyes. He turned his head only to find his son standing in the doorway.

"Nicky!", he called out surprised. "Hey bud, I didn't expect you coming out of your room again. At least not today.", he added jokingly.

The blond teen smiled halfhartly. "Well, **I** didn't expect to get a visitor this late."

"Right.", his father answered. "Where's Chris?"

"He's gone." came Nickys reply as he made his way over to where his dad sat.

"Well", he added after a moment. "To be exactly, he disappeared in a swirl of blue and white lights. BTW, you wouldn't know something about me being magic, now would you?" He looked him direct in the eyes.

Jesse sighed inwardly. He knew where this was going. God, how he had feared this conversation. But he knew the day would come when Nicky would start asking questions about his wiccan heritage – Chris had told him so. Thinking of Chris, what had he and Nicky talked about?

He switched the tv off and returned his sons look. "What has Chris told you?"

Nicky took place at a nearby stool. This was going to be longer conversation.

"Oh, well, let's see...I'm a witch, he's my whitelighter – you know, kind of like a guardian angel; he can sense if I need him, and he said – well, that I should talk to you about the whole thing and that you have some secrets yourself and probably know what's going on with me. **Do** you know what's going on with me? You know when you and mom started interoggating me I had this feeling...like you already suspected what happened back in the car."

Jesse rubbed his neck. God, the kid was more right than he could even guess. Finally he said: "I did."

Nicky was confused. "But...how?"

"This going to be a long story. See, life wasn't always like this. 20 years ago, it was pretty tough for me to be exactly."

The teen stared at his father. He NEVER talked about his past!

Jesse went on: "I...was an inactive member of the resistance."

"What resistance?"

"Have you ever heard of Wyatt Halliwell?"

**Street in LA, night**

Jerek wasn't in a good mood. To be concrete, he was in a thinkable **bad** mood.

After informing his queen about the boy and his connections to Chris, she had sent him to capture the boy, no matter what. About his question how he should do that she had angrily replied: "Think of something! Look for any hints or tracks! Do your job, god damn it!"

So, here he was, walking in a dirty alley in search of any indications that could lead him to the little brat. This was so humiliating. Him, a powerful demon, having to crawl on the ground like a dog! And all he could think about was Lara and the way her beautiful eyes had sparkled after he mentioned Chris. What did she want with a nuisance like him? He would never love her, never be able to treat her the way she deserved. That little good for nothing!

"Chris isn't right for her, never was and never will.", he thought. And damn he would make her see that!

Jerek suddenly smiled when he saw a little gadget lying on the ground. It was a MMCP-Player.


	17. Chapter 16: Is it true?

_Hey guys, thank you for the reviews, please keep donig that. So, here is my next chapter:_

**Chapter sixteen: Is it true?**

**Nicky's house, night**

"Of course!" Everyone knew that Wyatt was the former leader of the magical community. Even the normal people did. The leader of the magical community stood above every other power in the state. The today's leader was a woman named Lara. The magical beings referred to her as either their queen or majesty. But every time someone spoke about Wyatt it was in secret.

"So, you know that he once leaded the magical community?"

"Yeah."

"Do you now that he was the one who exposed magic to the world of the normal mortals?"

"He did?"

"Yes, he did. Before that, the normal people of us had no clue about magic. Well, some did. But they were clever enough to keep their mouths shut. You know, if you would have told someone that magic exists 30 years ago, they would have either made fun of you or thought you were crazy."

"But that didn't change, did it? If you nowadays tell someone you're a witch they still think you are crazy."

"Well, knowing that there are magical beings out there is one thing, but a very other thing is hearing people claim to be one of those creatures."

"Oh", came Nicky's reply.

"Anyway, back than the folks didn't know about magic. But it existed. As did two sides: good and bad. These two sides fought against each other. The elders leaded the good side and the source leaded the bad side. Good witches fought against evil witches, warlocks and demons. They elders had given them whitelighters for help and guidance. The whitelighters protected the good witches and future whitelighters – that are mortals who did good things in their life and when they died, the elders turned them into whitelighters. Of course they too weren't safe. Darklighters tried to kill them to leave their charges unprotected. This war existed for thousands of years. Many died, as did Wyatt's family."

"Wyatt's family?"

"Yes. His mother and her two sisters were the charmed ones, three very powerful witches."

"Didn't help them much, did it?"

Jesse looked at his son sadly. "No it didn't. They were vanquished, one by one. Piper, the oldest sister, left two sons behind. The elder was Wyatt, the younger one was Chris."

"Chris? As in our Chris? He and Wyatt were related?"

Seeing Nicky's shocked expression, Jesse had to laugh.

"Yes, they were brothers. When I first met Chris, I couldn't believe it either. They were so different from each other; well at least they seemed to be. When their family was killed Wyatt lost his believe in good. He went to the underworld, became the new source, killed the elders and took over the whole magical world and San Francisco. And he killed everyone that stood in his way.", he added grimly.

Then he went on: "Chris wasn't too pleased about it. He joined the resistance and fought against Wyatt. But we were fighting a loosing battle. Wyatt was powerful...and smart! He always seemed to be one step ahead of us. He had many demons and witches on his side. With the help of his spies he found our shelters and took us by surprise. His probes flew around and scanned for non-identified witches. Many of us were captured or killed. As Chris realised he couldn't stop him he made a plan to change things by going into the past."

"Did he succeed?"

His father looked thoughtful. "Apparently not. You know, Chris came back from the past one day and he was changed...broken. Before that he fought so hard for his beliefs in good and evil and protecting innocents like his mom did but then... . It seemed like he had simply given up. He left the resistance and joined Wyatt. Having his brother finally by his side like he had dreamed of all the time had somehow a calming effect on Wyatt. He became more human, stopped killing people. With Chris help he turned his regime of terror into a whole new movement. More and more people turned to him, even members of the resistance."

"You too?", asked Nicky.

"Yes. See, I wasn't a magical creature. I came to the resistance because it was to dangerous on the streets. I was safed from a demon by one of the members and because I had nowhere else to go I stayed and joined them. But then I fell in love with your mom. And I was sick and tired of fighting. I just wanted to live in peace and enjoy my time with your mother. Chris made it possible. He talked to Wyatt. His brother spared us and all others who stopped fighting him. I was able to start a new life, not having to worry about the next day probably being my last one. The resistance broke apart. It was the very end of the movement against Wyatt."

Nicky found this story fascinating. He didn't know what that had to do with him being a witch, but he really wanted to know more about Chris and his dads past.

"And how went it on?"

"Wyatt fell in love with a beautiful witch. Her name was Isabelle. Chris really liked her, too. They both got married and had two children, twins. Isabelle had a younger brother and an older half sister. Her name was Lara."

"Lara? The today's leader of the magical community?"

"Exactly. See, there was a putsch by some demons back then. Wyatt and Isabelle were killed. But Lara, Chris and Isabelle's little brother were able to escape."

"And the children?"

"Nobody really knows what happened to them.", Jesse replied. "After that, Lara took over and since then she's reining the magical community."

Nicky thought things over. This was really an interesting story but he still didn't know what that had to do with him.

"So, Lara's a witch like her sister."

"Right."

"And Wyatt and his mother were both witches."

"Right."

"And Chris and Wyatt are brothers. How come Chris is a whitelighter?"

"Oh, actually Chris is half witch, half whitelighter, just like Wyatt. Their father was a whitelighter and their mother was a witch, so they are hybrids."

"So, if one of your parents is a witch, that means you're a witch, too."

"Yeah, I think so."

"Well, so since I'm a witch - does that mean you're a witch, too?"

Jesses jaw dropped. "No!"

"But mom is one?"

"God, no!"

Now Nicky was confused. "But how come I am?"

His father didn't answer as he looked dismayed at his hands.

"Dad? How come I am?"

Jesse looked pained in his eyes. "I think you know how." His answer was almost a whisper.

No! That couldn't be! It just couldn't! That...that would mean that...his parents were not his parents!

**Chris old apartment, night**

With two quick steps **Chris** had closed the distance between him and his nephew.

"Alex, what are you doing here?" When the blond teen didn't answer he looked at the others. Noticing the awkward silence around him, he asked "What's going on?"

"He was attacked by a demon." Benji declared after his initial shock wore off. "But that's not the main point."

"Then what is it?"

Benji hesitated. He knew he was going to drop a bombshell and worst of all, had no idea how his friend would react. Back then,Wyatts 'death' had almost destroyed Chris. Benji was sure if it weren't for his nephews who still needed him, he had thrown himself over the next edge. Hell, if Chris hadn't been there to stop him, Benji would have killed himself that day. Loosing his sister had been too hard. He didn't want to live anymore. But Chris had been there, had stopped him from committing suicide. And he had given him one hell of a lecture!

Benji smiled sadly at the memory. That was typically Chris. Always thinking of others first. He took a deep breath and preparing himself for what was about to come.

"Wyatt's alive."

"Dude, I know he's standing right beside me!" Chris answered rolling his eyes annoyed. What kind of game was Benji playing?

"No, not him." The black haired guy answered, pointing at the blond witch in their middle. "I'm talking about our Wyatt from this time...seems like he's still alive."

"Benji, I'm so not in the mood for this!" **Chris** snapped, not wanting to believe it.

"I'm not kidding you! The Wyatt from the past can't use his powers in our time. But if his future-self was dead, he should be, so that can only mean one thing: Our Wyatt is still alive!"

**Chris** world collapsed around him like a house of cards. Shocked he spun around to face his sibling. "Is it true?", his eyes asked silently.


	18. Chapter 17:What made you change?

_Hi guys, I'm back once again. After I took 3/4 of exams, I decided to (finally) update again. Please R&R!_

**Chapter seventeen: What made you change your mind?**

**Chris old apartment, night**

Chris couldn't remember how he had managed to get out of the living room and into his own room.

Now he was leaning against the closed door, taking several deep breaths to calm his shaking body down.

He was on an emotional roller coaster. Shock, relief, pain, anger and hate were rummaging through him like a tornado.

He couldn't believe it. Even after Wyatt had nodded his head slightly to answer his unspoken question he just couldn't believe it!

The lamp on his nightstand began to shake violently and then suddenly crushed against the wall.

"Calm down, Chris, just fucking calm down!", he thought, trying desperately not to loose his control over his powers.

Suddenly, a figure shimmered in.

Chris was ready to throw whatever demon it was against the nearest wall when the figure finally formed into his brother.

"How...?", Chris started, but Wyatt interrupted him.

"Bianca shimmered me in."

"What do you want?", Chris growled. He knew he was unfair. Wyatt wasn't to blame for any of this mess. But seeing him standing there watching him carefully was just too much.

13 years. 13 years of pain, being heartbroken, of missing him terribly, blaming himself for not being able to prevent his death and now he learned that it wasn't true.

Wyatt watched his now older little brother carefully.

Chris was pale and shaking. Even his voice was trembling. Wyatt hadn't seen him this upset since the day their mother had died.

He remembered how the whole manor was shaking from Chris' telekinesis, like someone had put an earthquake simulator under their house. He remembered windows breaking and certain things flying through the air.

And from the way things were looking now, Chris was on the edge of loosing it again.

He really didn't need that. Not when he hadn't his powers to protect himself from his brothers outbursts.

And a little voice in his head reminded him that now - two and a half decades later – Chris powers probably had grown so much that this time it would probably be the whole city shaking.

"We need to talk.", Wyatt therefore answered in the calmest way he could.

Chris let out a suppressed sound, which Wyatt figured could either be a laugh or a sob.

He carefully took a step towards his brother but stopped when the ceiling started to shake slightly.

"This is going to be a long night!", Wyatt thought as he sat on the bed, trying to take a less threatening position.

After a few moments of silence he stated: "You're really upset, aren't you?"

Chris let out a choked laugh.

"Upset? Me? What gave you _that_ idea?! I just found out that my dead brother, who was murdered 13 years ago, actually isn't as dead as I thought. So, why would I _be upset_?!" Chris voice was dropping with sarcasm.

But Wyatt remained serious. "That's actually a good question. I mean, since you consider me as evil I actually thought you would be happy to have me gone."

"I would never..." Chris started furiously just as a light bulb of the ceiling lamp busted. He took a calming breath.

"Things have changed in the last years, Wyatt. I know that... I didn't understand you then."

"But now you do?" Wyatt asked surprised.

"Yeah"

The blonde Halliwell let this information sink in.

"So, does that mean you've joined me?", he then asked incredulously. "What has happened?"

"That's a long story." Chris answered.

"Well, as this is going to be a long night anyways, I think we have plenty of time.", Wyatt snorted.

Chris even laughed a little and took a seat next to him. "I guess you're right."

Then he hesitated a bit, trying to figure out where to start. "You told me over and over again, that there's no good and evil. And I just couldn't understand what made you think that. I was sure that evil exists, I still am. Demons aren't like human beings, they live to destroy and cause pain."

"Yeah I know what you're going to say.", Chris grinned as Wyatt opened his mouth to protest.

"They're doing it to gain power. You're right, but even when they have it they don't stop. But that's not the point. The point is that until then I was just as sure about good as I was about evil. Call me naive, but I think I needed these beliefs to cope with all the things we have suffered. I told myself that there had to be a reason – and that this reason was the 'greater good'. I think I would have broken down long ago, if I hadn't had this concept I was clinging to so fiercely."

"What made you change your mind?", Wyatt asked curiously.

"My trip to the past. You know I thought that a demon had turned you, had made you evil. It was the only explanation I could come up with. I just... I thought if I could find that thing and destroy it, then everything would be ok again. Stupid, huh?" Chris sounded like was on the verge of tears.

"Not really.", Wyatt admitted. Sure, what Chris had done was stupid – and dangerous, he could have gotten himself killed – but Wyatt would lie to himself if he claimed he couldn't understand his brothers reasoning.

Chris gave him a small smile. "As it turned out, I wasn't so wrong. Something really changed you, but it wasn't a demon. It was an elder, Gideon. You know what's ironic? He was an old friend of dad. He had kidnapped you and tried to kill you."

Wyatt had suddenly turned pale. Chris wasn't supposed to know this, he wasn't supposed to know any of this! Images of dark caves welled up in front of his inner eyes, images of screams and weird figures and darkness.

"It was like dad once said." , Chris went on, looking his brother directly in the eyes. "Imagine being away from all of us for weeks, maybe even months – constantly fighting of Gideon's attempts..."

"Stop it!" Wyatt cried out, fighting back the tears. He didn't want to remember that time; he just couldn't deal with it.

Chris nodded slowly as he crouched down in front of his brother, taking his hands in his. "It was then that I understood. It isn't about power, is it? But about control. Because if you're in control, nothing can happen to you. If you're the monster, you aren't the victim. That's why you're a control freak. That's why you flip out every time you loose the control over a situation. Because then you're vulnerable, then the fear comes back, doesn't it? And to prevent that you need power. If you're powerful enough, you can control everything, am I right?"

Wyatt just glared at him. Of course, Chris was right – God, every single word was true. But Wyatt would rather bite off his tongue then to give Chris the satisfaction of being able to look straight into his soul.

"Anyway", Chris continued. "I also realized that you were right, that there isn't a 'greater good' - just our own one. So I ... came home. We had quite a long talk."

"So, after 8 long years I finally got to you?", Wyatt asked. He still couldn't believe his luck.

"You know it wasn't just my fault.", Chris declared as he let go of his brothers hand began pacing in the room. "If you would have told me what happened to you sooner... "

Chris shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Whatever, we finally made a deal. I left the resistance and joined you. In return, you agreed that if it came to killing people in order to get what you want and I could find a way to reach the same goal without killing someone you would listen to me."

"And it worked?", Wyatt asked. He had to admit, the thought of having Chris working with him instead of against him was very tempting. Chris might have not been as powerful as Wyatt, but that lack he made up with cleverness.

"Yeah, it did." The brown haired Halliwell grinned.

"So, I had you..."

"Finally by your side, like you always wanted."

"That sounds too good to be true."

Chris smile fell. "Well, it was."

XXX

Alex was puzzled. He couldn't make any sense from the things that happened around him. After Chris had practically fled from the room the blond man, Wyatt, had turned to the women in the black leather suit and said something about shimmering him to Chris. Next second, he had faded away from the room.

Alex was nearly bursting with questions. Why was Chris so upset and why was there a younger version of him in the room? Was this Wyatt guy a zombie or what did they mean when they talked about him being dead?

He would have loved to ask Benji for answers, but his self-estimated protector looked so destroyed that he simply didn't have the heart to bother him.

Since he could do nothing else he took a look around the room. A small gadget on the desk finally caught his eyes. He went over to the desk to take a better look at it. It was an MMCP-Player. The screen was still on. Alex curiously picked it up when he could suddenly see someone on the display.

The man had long dark red hair and a large scar that went from his right eye to his cheek. He smiled deviously.

"There you are, kiddo! Don't worry I'll find you and your friends."

Benji, who had turned by the sudden words like the others, quickly crossed the room and snatched the MMCP-Player out of the teenager's hands and snapped it shut. "Shit!", he cursed.

"What's wrong?", Bianca asked.

"A demon has Alex MMCP-Player."

"Thanks, this far we came ourselves!", Chris snapped.

Benji shot him an angry glare. "If he has the MMCP-Player, he has also Alex contact list with the numbers of all his friends. And if you have the number you're able to locate the person to which it belongs. It's the same principle that goes with the cell phone."

"Wait, does that mean that they are going to find us?", Chris asked alarmed.

"No, when I first got the thing I made sure that nobody can locate me over the gadget. Problem is, since he has it he can probably locate everyone else on your contact list.", Benji explained.

Alex felt sheer terror when he realized what that meant.

"My mom!", he cried out. God, no! This thing was able to locate his mother!

"OMG, I have to help her!", Alex thought panicked. All of a sudden, he disappeared in a swirl of blue and white lights.


	19. Chapter 18:Where you think you're going?

_Hi, I know it's been a while. I'm struggling currently with a little writers-block, but I've finally managed another chapter. Thanks again for all the reviews. So, here we go once more:_

**Chapter ****eighteen: Where do you think you're going?**

_Previously on CYTMWIA:_

_"Well, so since I'm a witch - does that mean you're a witch, too?"_

_Jesses jaw dropped. "No!"_

_"But mom is one?"_

_"God, no!"_

_Now Nicky was confused. "But how come I am?"_

_His father didn't answer as he looked dismayed at his hands._

_"Dad? How come I am?"_

_Jesse looked pained in his eyes. "I think you know how." His answer was almost a whisper._

**Nicky's house, night **

"I am adopted?" Nicky's words hung for a moment in the room, like three little orphans don't know where to go, mimicking exactly the teenager's momentary emotions.

Jesse simply nodded.

Nicky just couldn't believe what his father was trying to tell him. No wait, not father. Jesse and Anna weren't his parents. He wasn't theirs. His whole life had been a complete lie! _Oh dear God._

At this moment, his gaze fell on a picture of the three of them. It had been taken at a picnic a few years ago. They had gone to the nearby park and he had played soccer with his father while his mom had packed out the food and the drinks. Then she had called them over. "Can't have my only child starving to death, can I?", his mom had said.

"Only child! Don't make me laugh!", Nicky thought as sudden anger took a hold of him. His hands were shaking as he stared furious at the picture. Suddenly it blew up.

Jesse let out a surprised shriek, then he turned to his fuming child. He knew from Chris that powers were tied to emotions and right now his kid looked at him with killing eyes.

"Nicky", he began reluctantly.

"Don't!" The teenager interrupted him roughly. "Don't say anything; I don't want to hear it! You two lied to me my whole life, how could you?!"

The ceiling lamp was the next thing to explode.

"Calm down, buddy and we will talk about this. I will explain everything to you, just... calm down, please." Jesse now pleaded with his son, fearing he was going to blow him up as well.

"No!" Nicky screamed as the clock on the wall blew up.

"Oh my God, what's going on here?" Anna shrieked as she – woken up by the explosions - rushed in the living room.

Nicky couldn't take it any more. Perturbed and scared of his own powers he ran out of the house. He didn't know where he was going as he run down the street. He just wanted to get away from everything as far as possible.

When he finally came to an halt he realized he had run to the nearby park.

A sudden shout of his name let him spun around to realize Jesse had followed him.

"You stay from me!" Nicky shouted back as the street light near Jesse blew up.

Just then a probe appeared and let his yellow rays scan over Nicky's frozen body. When it's transmitting finished it gave away a beeping sound and suddenly a demon shimmered in.

"Now now, what have we here, an unregistered witch." He mocked as he grabbed a hold of the frightened teenager.

All reasonable thoughts left Nicky and panic took over as the strange man grabbed him.

"Dad, Chris!", he shouted as the man shimmered him and himself out.

**Alex' house, night**

Adrianna was tapping her foot angrily at the ground. Alex should have been back by now. He should have been back an hour ago, to be concrete. Just because summer holidays began tomorrow didn't mean the 14-year-old could stay away past midnight! Oh, when she got a hold of him he was _so_ grounded!

Frankly, she was beginning to get scared. Alex was a wild kid – damn, she hadn't been much better herself when she was his age - but he knew his limits. So why wasn't he back by now?

All of a sudden, a swirl of white and blue lights appeared in the middle of the room. After a second, her son was standing in front of her.

"Alex!" She blurted out. "What did you ... how?"

"No time for explaining! We have to get out of here, NOW!" Alex cut her off while she was gaping at him like a fish.

He made a move to take her hand and get her out of here as fast as possible but his plans were crushed when the red-head and 14 other demons shimmered in – fireballs in their hands.

"This so isn't my day!" Alex muttered.

Jerek watched the teenager take a protective stance in front of his mother.

"Ok, kiddo, we can do this the hard way or..."

Right then, Wyatt, Benji, Bianca and the two versions of Chris orbed in.

Jerek huffed. "Ok, I think we're going for the hard way, then." He turned to his companions. "Fire!"

**Chris** redirected the first wave of fireballs telekinetically back towards the demons, causing 4 of them to burn on the spot, while the others managed to duck.

Soon, everyone was fighting with at least one demon.

Chris had grabbed a floor lamp from nearby and used it against one demon like a fighting stick.

As one of his companions made a move for Bianca, she quickly summoned an athame and stabbed him.

Benji was laying on his back. The demon he had fought against had threw a punch at him, causing the black haired witch to fall backwards, and was now standing over him with an ugly sneer on his face.

"That's going to hurt.", he laughed evilly while pulling an athame out of his coat.

"Damn straight!", came the sudden reply as Adrianna – after breaking through her momentary shock – had grabbed a nearby potted plant and crashed it upon his head.

The demon tumbled. Benji used this opportunity and threw the demon off his feet. He then grabbed the head of the thing and it started to rot, just like the one in the alley before.

Wyatt meanwhile had managed to throw one of the creatures through the window. God, how he hated not being able to use his powers! Sure, he could fight bare hand as well, as his aunt Phoebe had been a great teacher in self-defence, but this was just humiliating!

He just realized a fireball had been thrown at him when he found himself on the ground – for the second time in a few hours! Just like before, Alex had thrown himself at him in order to push him and himself out of harms way.

The blonde teenager seemed to have similar thoughts, because as he lay on top of him he muttered: "You know, this is getting old quickly."

"A penny for your thoughts!", Wyatt snarled back, angry at himself for being rescued twice a day by that runt.

Just then another fireball flew their way. Wyatt reacted quickly and flipped the kid and himself over just in time to avoid the fireball. Seeing the demon that had thrown it advance he kicked out and sent the demon flying backwards slightly. Then he pushed himself to his feet, just as demon stood up himself. He tried to form a new fireball but Wyatt was prepared. He grabbed a hold of the demons arm and twisted it back. Then he pushed him merciless in the line of another fireball. Alex found himself staring with new found respect at the blonde man in front of him.

The demon screamed as it went up in flames, causing **Chris** to turn around and notice the demon that had thrown the fireball originally at him.

With an angry snarl he blew him up, then turned around again to vanquish another demon that was making an effort to get a hold of a screaming Adrianna.

Something that didn't went unnoticed by Alex as he attempted to make a beeline over to his mother. But he didn't get far. Jerek, who had held back until now got in his way and grabbed him with one arm around the waist and the other one around his neck.

Alex just managed to let out a surprised yelp, causing the adults to look his way, before he was shimmered out by the demon.

"No!" **Chris** and Adrianna screamed out in horror as they watched him being kidnapped. However, **Chris** desperation quickly turned into hot anger as he watched the remaining demons attempt to shimmer out as well. With an outstretching motion of his hands he sent a giant telekinetic blast their way, ripping them apart completely.

As he let his hands fall to his side, he felt the glances of Adrianna and three stunned people from the past on him, but he ignored them. Instead he made his way over to the last remaining demon, which shuddered like the mouse in front of the cat.

When he frightened tried to shimmer away, the dark haired man telekinetic-orbed him against the nearest wall.

"Where do you think you are going?" **Chris** asked deadly calm. Then he muttered "Crystals!" and 5 crystals appeared instantly around the demon, preventing him from escape.

Just then the oldest Halliwell heard a terrified voice in his head: "Chris!"


	20. Chapter 19:You don't know about Nicky?

I know, it's been awhile

_I know, it's been awhile. But during the last 3 months of summer holidays I wasn't able to let my school computer do the beta for me. I seriously need someone to help me with that! So anyone who has interest, just send me a message!_

_Anyway, here's the next chapter:_

**Chapter nineteen: ****You don't know about Nicky?**

**Alex' house, night**

"Oh, for the love of…" Chris cursed, then turned to Benji.

"Don't let that scum over there out of your site!", he ordered before orbing away.

Only seconds later the Halliwell appeared in front of an completely frantic Jesse.

"What...", Chris started to ask as Jesse interrupted him harshly. "They got Nicky! He used his powers and...they took him away. We have to get him back, we have to... he's just a kid Chris, just a kid! They...", he rambled on.

"Easy, easy!" Chris tried to console his completely freaked out friend, though he wasn't much calmer either. _Great, now there are two nephews I have to find! Wyatt...Isabelle, please forgive me, I have let you down. But I promise you, I will get them back._

"Chris we have to do something!" Jesse was scared for his son. He remembered the rumors about the horrible things they did to unregistered witches once they caught one from his time as a resistance member; he remembered them all to well.

"Alright, let's calm down first. What happened?", Chris asked.

Jesse quickly filled him in.

**The queen's manor, night**

Meanwhile Jerek reappeared at his queens manor, having a hard time controlling the little brat in his grip while smiling at his surprised looking queen.

When Lara noticed the two intruders she turned around only to see Jerek standing in her living room, barely managing to get a hold of the struggling teenager in his arms.

"My queen", he spoke respectfully "I'm bringing you the boy."

Alex temporary stilled his struggle to look at the strange woman in front of him.

She was very pretty, her long dark hair falling over her shoulders, her dark eyes studding him intensive, as if trying to find out where she had seen him before.

Lara had a hard time believing her eyes. That kid looked like a younger version of her ex-brother-in-law! Well, except for the eyes, which were the same as his mothers. Yep, that was definitely Wyatt's son, the only question was: which one?

Seeing his alarmed expression, she smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry honey, no ones going to hurt you, you are safe with me."

At hearing this, he just snorted "Yeah? Maybe you should tell that your pet here!" as he gesticulated towards the man still holding him firmly in place.

Jerek turned red with anger at hearing this. He was **not** a pet! He was going to hit that impertinent brat when Lara stopped him.

"Jerek! Get a hold of yourself!"

He knew better than to disobey her. He finally let go of the kid and took a stand beside the door in order to prevent it from escape.

After making sure that Jerek would stay were he was, Lara turned her attention back to the boy in front of her. If she played her cards right, maybe she would gain his trust and then – hopefully- Chris' ,too.

"What's your name, honey?"

"Why should I tell you?", came the reply.

Lara forced herself to stay calm. _Here we go! _Then she tried: "You're Alex, right?"

A second he looked surprised, then he got a hold of himself.

"Right, and who the hell are you?!", he demanded to know.

Lara could feel she was getting angry. He had no right talking to her like that! What an annoying runt! Then again, even as a baby he had been like this, wailing as soon as something didn't go as he wanted! Unlike his brother. Nicky was a good baby, calm and barely crying.

"Well, shouldn't surprise me.", she muttered out loud. "You were always the more dominant one."

"What's that supposed to mean?", Alex asked mistrustful.

"That your brother was way calmer than you!" Lara smiled.

"What?! What are you talking about? I don't have any siblings!" Alex began to wonder if maybe this woman was crazy.

Lara stared surprised at him, carefully watching for any signs in his face that he didn't mean what he just said. When she found none, realisation began to drawn in.

"You don't know about Nicky?", she asked bewildered.

"Who?"

"Well, it seems that he doesn't know about Isabelle, either. He calls the woman that I found him with "mom"". Jerek interjected from the door.

Considering this new found information, Lara stared unbelievingly at Alex. "You don't know who you are?"

Alex remained silent.

"Oh, I see, Chris didn't keep you with him or Benji, he gave you up to other families in order to protect you. And he did a great job. That's why I couldn't find you."

"Lady, I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm fed up with listening! I go home!" The teenager hissed as he made his way over to the door. When he saw Jerek move he came to an halt. His eyes not leaving the demon in front of him he spoke to Lara. "You better call your pet off, before I broil him."

Lara knew that tone. It wasn't a threat – it was a promise. How many times had she heared that tone from her sister! That brat surely came after his mother!

Trying to remain calm, she focused her attention back to the stubborn teenager in her room.

"I'm sorry, honey, but I can't let you go. Not yet." _Not ever!_, she added in her thoughts. She made her way over to him and laid her hands on his shoulders. Startled, he turned around.

"There are so many things we have to talk about.", she continued as she caressed his cheeks. "But not tonight. You seem tired. I'll show you your room."

Then she shimmered the two of them out.

They appeared in a giant bedroom. It was beautifully decorated; the paper hangings were in white and gold, big windows gave a fantastic view over the city, a large crystal chandelier and several other lamps in the room suffusing it with light and they were standing on a soft green carpet. There was a big comfortable couch with a mahogany-colored table, two king sized beds, and two night stands and two French doors which Alex assumed lead to the bathroom and an walk in closet. He wondered why there were two beds. Than it hit him. Didn't Lara say something about a brother? He turned to the woman next to him.

Lara had watched the amazement in Alex face as he looked around the room. When he turned to her she smiled at him. "Do you like it?" She didn't wait for an answer as she went on: "Ok, honey, it's late, you should go to bed."

Seeing the look on his face, she grinned evilly: "And don't you dare think you can get out of here. I casted an anti-orbing spell on the whole house. The windows and doors are magically sealed. Believe me, you won't get them to open – not with spells, not with your powers. If you try to damage them with your powers, an alarm goes on, same thing for the walls."

Alex was trying to find a loop hole in all of this. She sensed it and smiled. "Stop it, honey. I covered everything. There's no way out."

The blond teenager frowned at her. "Who are you?"

"I'm your aunt." Seeing his shocked expression she leaned forward and gave him a light kiss on the forehead. "We'll talk about things tomorrow. Sleep now!", she added then shimmered out.

Completely confused Alex took a few steps toward one of the beds. His aunt? What the hell was going on here? Then he saw something that pushed him beyond any words. There, on the nightstand stood a picture. He picked it up to get a better look on it. There on the picture were Chris, Benji, the blond man named Wyatt that he had come to know and Lara!

Chris stood on the left side, he smiled and had an arm around Wyatt. Benji and Lara stood on the right side of the picture, next to a beautiful black haired woman with hazel eyes and a pony tail. She and Wyatt stood in the middle. Each of them held a small baby in their arms.

Lara reappeared in the living room, only to be greeted by an extremely excited Jerek. "What now?", she asked.

"My queen, one of the probes has sensed an unregistered witch. Abron went to capture the witch, he's waiting outside."

"Why the hell should I deal with a stupid witch this late?! Why didn't you just threw her in the dungeon?!"

Jerek smiled triumphantly. "This isn't just any witch. Abron, come in!"

When the door opened, another demon came in with a completely freaked out teenager over his shoulder.

"Get your damn hands off of me!", he roared.

When the demon had placed the young witch in front of him, the kid spun around to come face to face with Lara.

He looked just like Alex!

Seeing Lara's surprised expression, Jerek smirked. "I think we've found Nicky."


	21. Chapter 20: You mean like visions?

_Hi, I've overcome my writer's block and I'm finally back again. So, here's the next chapter. Please Read & Review!_

**Chapter twenty:**** You mean like visions?**

**The queen's manor, night**

Nicky couldn't help but feel like he had jumped out of the frying-pan into the fire. As if meeting his guardian angel, learning about his fathers and Chris past, discovering being adopted and getting another power wasn't enough already for one evening, he now had been kidnapped right in front of his dad's – well, adoptive dad's - eyes! To top that, he had a bad feeling that the surprises of this evening were far from over! When that man carried him in a room and finally let him on the ground he spun around and came face to face with one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

She looked surprised at him, like she'd recognize him somehow.

"I think we've found Nicky."

The blond teen glanced at the speaker. Found him? Wait a second, that would mean they have searched for him! But why?

***

Lara stared at the kid for a few seconds. Yep, he was Alex spitting image - with a few little differences in the attire.

Alex short hair was spiky, thanks to an amount of hair-gel, she mused, while Nicky's was curly and a little bit longer.

Also they seemed to have a different taste in clothing. Alex biker boots, black jeans and red sleeveless shirt stood in sharp contrast to Nicky's sneakers, blue denim jeans, white t-shirt and the black vest he was wearing.

But the biggest difference obviously was the personality.

Other than his brother, Nicky wasn't alarmed or defiant, but appeared more to be completely frightened.

Lara smiled. Somehow she had a feeling that this twin was easier to handle.

**The boys ****bedroom, night**

Alex couldn't sleep. He was dead tired, but instead of slowly drifting of, he found himself tossing and turning on the bed. Well, truth be told, being kidnapped and held hostage wasn't exactly a motivation to sleep.

Suddenly he noticed a light shimmer in the air.

A moment later, two persons were standing in "his" room. Alex pretended to be asleep. Just because he suffered insomnia, didn't mean he would let anybody know about it.

"Here we are.", he heard Lara's low voice. She led the second person over to the other bed.

"Seems like this will be your bed from now on. We'll continue our conversation in the morning. Sleep now and don't wake your brother. It was a long day for all of us."

She ran a hand through his hair and shimmered out.

"_Brother?"_ Alex eyebrows furrowed in the dark.

Nicky tensed. _"Has someone just said anything?"_, he thought.

"No, just thought.", came a voice from the other bed.

Nicky turned towards the direction of the voice. _"I thought he's asleep. Did I wake him up?"_

"No.", came the answer. "I was awake the whole time."

Suddenly the light on the other night stand went on.

Alex had sat up and reached for the switch.

At first, both boys blinked at the intrusion of light. Then their eyes widened in shock when they finally got a look at each other.

"Oh my God!", Nicky blurted out. He felt like he had just received a blow in the gut.

The two of them had the same height, the same physique, the same face!

Even their facial expression – shocked, unbelieving – was the same!

Although just for a few seconds.

"I also go by Alex.", the other boy replied as his face twisted into a forced smile.

Alex was sure he was just as shocked at this new turn of events as the other one, but he would be damned if let his emotions get the best of him! So, he recovered quickly and forced a smile that felt more like a grimace and a smart-ass answer to hide his true feelings.

**Chris old apartment, night**

Benji felt very uncomfortable. An hour ago, **Chris** had gone to help whoever had called him, while he tried to calm down a completely desperate Adrianna.

When her sobs on his shoulder finally deceased, **Chris** had come back, bringing Nicky's adoptive parents Jesse and Anna along, and quickly explained that the boy had been kidnapped, too and how it happened.

Now both his nephews were gone.

Benji felt horrible for letting them down, although he knew **Chris** had to feel a lot worse. He never got to know Piper, **Chris** mother, but from the stories he had heard from both Wyatt and **Chris** he could tell that **Chris** took after his mother in taking the blame for everything bad that happened to their family.

As if things weren't bad enough already, Jesse, Anna and Adrianna of course had to ask who had kidnapped their precious children and why – leave it to **Chris** to explain the true identity of the twins and their problem with Lara to them.

To say they were surprised raising the true heirs of Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, former leader of the whole magical community, would have been the understatement of the year!

And here they were now, Wyatt stiff as a stick, with all three parents shooting him nervous and dismayed glances every once in a while.

Chris and Bianca sat together in the big armchair, both lost in their own thoughts.

**Chris** had gone back to Adrianna's place, interrogating the demon they had captured earlier.

"So", Jesse finally broke the deafening silence. When all heads turned to look at him he swallowed thickly and asked:

"How long will it take **Chris** to get information out of this demon?"

Benji knew he was worried about Nicky and he actually wanted to know when he would get "his" son back – even if he knew no one knew the answer to that.

In an afford to give him an honest answer, he said: "That depends on the pain threshold of the demon."

Seeing the stunned looks from the others he added: "Don't worry it won't take long."

Wyatt frowned. "Is that because the demon has a low pain threshold or because..."

"Chris is quite good at getting information out of demons.", Benji answered.

At that declaration, Chris head shot up. "Whoa, wait a second. Does that mean my future-self is torturing that demon?!"

"Yeah, why?", Benji asked confused.

Chris felt a conflict. He despised torture! Sure, it was a demon they were talking about, not an human being, but still...

Apparently something on his facial expression must have shown his inner struggle, because Benji's face relaxed in understanding.

"Family comes always first. That's what you told me a long time ago. You said it doesn't matter what we have to do to protect each other, because this family has already lost enough."

Benji said this with such a fierceness that Chris couldn't help but wonder what has – no, will – become of himself. His future version showed a recklessness that scared the crap out of him.

"Seems like Chris learned from the best.", Jesse muttered as he shot Wyatt a look. Just because he was grateful that Wyatt had spared his life, didn't mean he forgave him all the pain he had caused him and his friends over the years!

Wyatt returned the look. Both man couldn't quite keep the hostility out of their eyes.

When Anna noticed it, she immediately inched closer to her husband and took his hand in hers to calm him down. She had heard what Wyatt was capable of, she didn't need a demonstration on Jesse.

Chris looked hurt at the remark and hung his head.

Bianca watched alarmed the staring contest.

Adrianna glanced unsure at Benji.

Benji sighed. _"Please Chris, come back, soon!"_

**The boys ****bedroom, night**

Nicky was shaking his head. "I so need a head desk.", he murmured as he stared at his new found twin. As he looked him up and down he couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at his brothers attire.

"_We may be twins, but I bet if there were different sizes for taste we couldn't be more apart."_

"A penny for your thoughts!", Alex grumbled.

"Why when you seem to be able to read every single one, anyway?", Nicky countered. "BTW, how do you do that?"

I've no idea. Normally I can't read other people's thoughts." Alex answered carefully. "What about you?"

"Aside from you? Not that I know of. I just... sometimes I see things before they happen."

"You mean like visions?"

"More like premonitions."

"So you have "the shining" – awesome." Alex hesitated for a moment. "Can you burn things with your mind - like me?"

"No, but since today I can apparently blow things up." Nicky's heart threatened to burst in his chest. It was totally crazy; talking with a stranger about things he kept from his beloved ones for years. And this guy behaved as if they were talking about normal stuff like the weather.

"Funny. Since today, **I** can apparently teleport myself all over the place." Alex was one step away from laughing and crying at the same time. This whole situation was totally absurd!

Nicky jumped up from his bed and crossed the room to look out of the window.

"This whole day is so fucked up!"

"Really? Tell me more!", came Alex sarcastic answer.

And to his surprise, Nicky did.


	22. Chapter 21: So, what do we do now?

_Only one comment. *pouts* Not very nice of you folks!_

_Thank you, lizardmomma. Nice to know at least one person appreciated it._

**Chapter twenty-one: ****So, what do we do now?**

**Chris old apartment, night**

Wyatt was dead tired. It had already been a long day, even before their spontaneous trip to the future.

**Chris** still wasn't back from his "interrogating". As proud as he was for his little brother finally getting over his right-and-wrong-issues, he couldn't help but worry a bit about this unexpected turn of events. He wondered how much his brother had changed in these past years.

About ten minutes ago, he had finally retired from the living room and the others to **Chris** bedroom.

He had enough of the nervous and disturbed glances which were shot at him. Not that he wasn't used to it. But being in the same room with the people who raised **his** children was simply awkward.

Besides, without his powers, he couldn't do something, anyway. God, he hated feeling so helpless!

All he could do was trust **Chris** in finding them.

And since we was so damn tired, he might as well get some sleep.

**The boys bedroom, night**

"So, let me get this straight." Alex said as he tried to summarize what both he and his twin had been told today. "We are twins. Our parents are Wyatt and... Isabelle?", he glanced for approval at his twin who simply nodded.

"Chris is not only our whitelighter, but also our uncle and Wyatt's brother. Benji is our uncle, too. He's the brother of our mother and Lara.", Alex rambled on.

"Yeah. According to my adoptive dad, our father was the most powerful magical being in the whole world." Nicky went on.

"And he used his power to stop the ancient fight between good and evil. He became the leader of the whole magical community.", Alex added.

"Right. He killed many people in the process; that's why there was a resistance formed against him."

"And Chris fought against his own brother. When he realized he couldn't stop him, he went to the past to save him, because he thought someone had corrupted Wyatt. But then... what? Something happened that made Chris give up? And he came back and joined Wyatt?", Alex asked sceptically.

Nicky shrugged."Looks like it. Chris turned our father's regime of terror into a whole new movement and together they ended the resistance."

"And then our father met our mom? How?"

"I've no idea. Neither my d... Jesse nor Lara told me about that.", Nicky answered.

"Right, Lara. So, according to what she told you, our parents fell in love with each other and had us. But not a whole year after we were born, there was a putch of some demons. Our parents were killed. Lara, Chris and Benji managed to escape with us. And then what?"

"Lara told me that Benji blamed her for the death of their sister and that's why he persuaded Chris that Lara was the wirepuller behind the putch. And because Chris and Benji were best friends, he believed him and they both went into hiding from her."

"Do you believe that?", Alex threw in.

Nicky looked unsure. "I don't know what to believe anymore."

Alex couldn't really blame him, therefore he let it slide for now and went on. "So, Lara thought it was her duty to rule things from now on, because we were to young and she wanted to stop chaos breaking out. Therefore, she made herself the new ruler of the community. Chris and Benji thought we were in danger and to protect us and prevent her from finding us they split us up. They gave you to Chris former friend and ally Jesse and his wife Anna and me to Adrianna."

"Yeah. But why Adrianna? Was she in the resistance, too?" Nicky looked curious at his brother.

Alex frowned. "Not that I know of. But she and Benji know each other. He told me he saved her life once."

"Maybe that's why she took care of you. To return the favour."

"That or she had a crush on him and was more than happy to raise what she probably thought "his" child.", Alex grinned. Little did he know how near the truth he was.

"Come on, be serious." Nicky grinned back. It was scary how easily they got along, despite being apart for thirteen years. Scary... and utterly comforting. As ridiculous as it was, but for the first time in a long while, Nicky felt complete.

"Okay.", Alex relented. "Back to the important issues."

**The queen's manor, night**

"Well, that went better than I thought.", Lara mused as she sat in her favorite armchair.

After managing to calm Nicky down and give him her version of the last thirteen years events, she had hope again to get at least one of the twins on her side.

And now that she had both of them in her care, Chris would soon be hers. With a little persuasion she would hopefully get him to be with her and if not, well...

"Jerek", she called.

No five seconds later, the red haired demon stood in front of her. "Yes my queen?", he replied dreamy.

Lara just rolled her eyes. Throwing her hair back, she stood up and grabbed a piece of paper from the couch table and handed it to him. "I need you to get these ingredients."

"Of course, my queen." Jerek took the sheet from her and skimmed the list. His eye brows furrowed. Liguoria, violet essence, canary feathers, rose essence, rat eyes, ...

"Your majesty, may I dare to ask what you are planning to do with these ingredients?"

Lara clicked her tongue in annoyance. "What does it look like?", she snarled.

Jerek stared dumb fonded at her. "Like a love potion.", he answered.

"That's what it is.", his queen replied arrogant.

Jerek was even more confused. "But why would you need a love potion? Which man in his right mind could possibly resist your beauty and your charm?"

"Chris", Lara muttered lost in her own thoughts.

Jerek felt jealousy rising in him almost immediately. "Well, he's a coward.", he declared – and regretted it in the same moment.

"How dare you talk about my love like that you disrespectful bastard?!", Lara bellowed as she slapped him hard in the face.

"Chris is an absolute stunner. He's smart, charismatic, powerful and attractive. He's everything that you aren't! Every woman would be lucky to have him! Damn it, even my sister couldn't help but notice it – and she was married to Wyatt! But Chris is mine! I **will** have him and you are going to help me with it! Otherwise you'll suffer a death so painful and pathetic, you wouldn't even wish it your worst enemy! Understand?!"

Jerek knew one wrong word now and she would make her threat come true. Therefore, he swallowed his anger, his jealousy and his hurt feelings back and simply nodded.

Lara calmed down a bit. "Good. And now get out of my sight and get the ingredients!"

Jerek bowed down obediently. "Yes, my queen."

And with that, he shimmered out.

**The boys bedroom, night**

Alex looked questioning at his sibling. "So, what do you think she wants from us?"

"Actually, I've asked her that."

"And?"

"Well, she was vague. She said she would take care of us from now on and that we all would be a family again."

Alex huffed. "Who's "we all"? You, me and her? Or our uncles and our father, too?"

"No idea. Wait, what do you mean "our father, too"? Remember he was killed during this putch.", Nicky frowned.

Alex raised an eye brow at his twin. "That's what Lara said. Doesn't mean it's true, though."

"So, you don't trust her?"

"No, do you?"

Seing Alex intensive stare, Nicky turned his head away. "I don't know."

"You gotta be kidding me?" Alex gaped at his sibling. "She kidnapped us! She took us away from our families. How can you even consider trusting her?"

At this, Nicky returned his gaze angry to the other boy. "Well, maybe because everyone else lied to me?! As far as I can tell, she's the only one telling the truth here, besides you."

"You don't know that!"

"Not for sure, but so far she has played with open cards! I don't think she lied to me about being my aunt, and as I can see, she didn't lie to me about you being my brother, either!"

"Doesn't mean she didn't lie to you about other things!"

"So what? You pronounce her guilty until it is proved otherwise?"

"I know she's lying about at least one thing! And even if I didn't know it, still doesn't give her the right to take us away from our parents and decide whom we belong to!"

"We belong to our family! And since she is family I can understand that she wants us with her. She searched for us for thirteen long years!"

"And what about our parents?"

"Haven't you been listening to me?! That aren't our parents!"

"Of course they are! Then they didn't conceive us, so what? Does that erase thirteen years of raising us, caring for us and loving us? If yes, then you are really an ungrateful brat!"

"I'm not ungrateful!", Nicky growled. "I love them more than anything! And of coure I appreciate all that they've done for me. It's just... how could they lie to me like that? I trusted them and they..."

"Jesus, aren't we a drama queen!", Alex snorted as he turned to take another look around the room.

Nicky was getting madder by the second. Who did this... guy think he was to talk to him like that?!

Angry, he snatched a pillow from the nearby bed and threw it straight to his brothers head.

When his head made contact with the pillow, Alex spun around to come face to face with his new found twin who was red with fury. And Lara said he used to be the calmer one – please!

"Don'...Again.", Nicky gritted out as he stared his sibling down. He usually was a calm nature but enough was enough!

After a few minutes of silence - and staring contest – Alex finally said: "Alright. This doesn't get us anywhere. We still need to figure out how we are supposed to get out of this one."

After a moment, Nicky seemed to slump in on himself. "You are right.", he gave in. "But what could we possibly do? As nice as the room is, it's a magic proofed cell. If we're trying to get out of here with our powers an alarm will go off. If we are trying to get out of here without our powers we'll have to jump out of the window and fall a few floors down, provided we manage to get it to open. Either way we're screwed!"

Alex smirked. "I said that once to Chris. You know what he answered?"

"No, what?"

The young teen's eyes sparkled conspirely. "You are only screwed when you run out of ideas!"

Nicky actually managed to smile a little. God, he was so tired. He desperately needed some sleep, but he would probably ending up with bad dreams anyway.

Alex suddenly straightened up. He stared intently at his twin. "What did you just think?"

Nicky turned his attention back to his brother. "That I'm tired."

"No, the other thing after that!" Alex replied impatiently.

"That I would probably end up having bad dreams anyway." Nicky's brows furrowed. "Why do you ask?"

Alex jumped up and started to pace the room excited. "That's it. Dreams. Yeah, that could actually work.", he murmured.

"What could work? You are not making any sense."

Alex spun around and faced his confused sibling. "Don't you understand? You have just found a solution to our little problem! Lara said the alarm would go off if we'll try to orb out or destroy the door, walls or window. She didn't say the alarm would go off if we used our powers otherwise."

"You mean you could... burn up something and nothing would happen?"

"Well, we can try. If the alarm goes off we simply say that I wanted to show you how my pyrokenesis works."

Before Nicky could protest Alex snatched a piece of paper out of his pocket and dragged his twin in the bathroom. Standing in front of the sink, Alex put the piece of paper in it, concentrated and pointed a finger at it. It went up in small flames.

Hearing no alarm go off, the twins waited briefly before grinning at each other. Alex washed down the burned remains and they went back into their bedroom.

"I'm surprised she lets us use our powers at all.", Nicky declared as they both took a seat on Nicky's bed.

"Yeah, me, too.", Alex replied. "She has to be really confident in herself – not that that would surprise me!"

Nicky grinned. "So, what do we do now?"

"I say we create a spell to get into someones dreams."

"Yeah, question is who's dreams we'll enter. BTW, I never created a spell before."

"It's not that hard. You only have to rhyme. However, creating a spell that works the way you want is way more tricky! As for the who part – I think Chris is our best bet, isn't he?" Alex looked for approval at Nicky.

His brother looked unsure. "I don't know, man. I mean he's our whitelighter and our uncle. You told me he was right there when you were kidnapped – do you honestly think he'll just sleep, not knowing where you are and whether you're safe or not?"

Alex huffed. "I guess you're right. He'll probably be up all night, looking for us. Same will go for Benji."

"And our adoptive parents.", Nicky added. As mad as he was at them for being lied to, he knew they loved him and would do anything for him. "So, who will it be?"

His twin brother racked his brain. Who else could they contact? Than it hit him.

"Our father."

Nicky was confused. "But he's dead."

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. However his past self his pretty much alive."

"His past self? What are you talking about?"

"Listen, before I was kidnapped, Benji saved me from a demon. With him was a guy named Wyatt. A guy that looks pretty much the same as the one holding one of us on this picture here." Alex explained as he pointed at the picture standing on the nightstand.

Nicky looked at it.

"However, when we were back to safety Benji and he were fighting about his powers not working. Wyatt said it was because he's in the future."

Nicky understood. "So, we're trying to enter his dreams then."

"I think it's the best bet we'll get."

"Alright. A spell then that rhymes. Ehrm..."

"I want to enter my father's mind, " Alex started.

"An idea. So, something that rhymes on "mind"; hmm... maybe "find". But what?", Nicky replied.

"Huh, a way in his dreams?" Alex tried to go on.

Nicky nodded. "That's good. So, uhm... a way in his dreams I wish to find?"

"Yeah. Let me think... what about "to meet him there and get some help"?"

"What rhymes on "help"?"

"Don't know. Ok, maybe then" to meet him there and get a clue"?"

"What the hell I'm supposed to do.", Nicky completed.

Alex laughed. "Not bad. I think we have it."

Nicky grinned back. "So, how do we do this?"

His brother thought about it. "I suggest we lay down on the bed. Something tells me we're probably going to loose our consciousness."

"Good point."

They both laid down next to each other on Nicky's bed and started to chant.

"I want to enter my father's mind.

A way in his dreams I wish to find.

To meet him there and get a clue

what the hell I'm supposed to do."

Not two seconds later their vision started to blur and they both fell into a deep slumber.


	23. Chapter 22: Can you tell me where I am?

**Chapter twenty-two: Can you tell me where I am?**

**Dream 1**

Nicky slowly took in his surroundings. Old houses, broken windows, a few homeless persons and a dirty ally – but no Alex!

Damn it. Where the hell was his brother? He thought they were supposed to do this together.

Suddenly, he heard fighting noises coming from the ally behind him.

Suspiciously he turned around and peeked into it. What he saw made his blood turn cold.

***

He was back in that ally. Only this time it looked a lot worse for him than before. The ugly demon that Benji had vanquished was still there, but with a few more buddies in his tow.

Alex and Benji were each battling there own demons – literately.

And still his powers weren't working. He was still helpless. He barely managed to avoid the energy balls that came flying his way.

Then he saw him. The red haired bastard that took his son from him. The thing stood a few feet away from him, smirking cruelly. A fire ball appeared in it's hand.

Wyatt's eyes travelled immediately to his son. Alex had his back to the demon. He didn't see him!

"Poor powerless Lord Wyatt.", the guy mocked. "So pathetic and helpless."

Wyatt returned his gaze to the demon. "You stay the hell away from him."

"Or what?", the thing continued to mock. "What could you possibly do? Don't you see? You can save no one. You couldn't save your mommy, you couldn't save your wife, you can't even save yourself. And you won't be able to save your kid either."

With that, the demon suddenly released the fire ball in his hand and sent it flying towards Alex.

The young teen was dead before he hit the floor.

"No!" Wyatt screamed. He rushed towards his kid.

At that moment he heard another scream. When he looked up he saw Benji lying on the floor in his own blood, a knife was nailed deeply into his back.

The red haired demon stood beside him, grinning evilly at Wyatt. "Everyone around you will die, just like you."

Then he sent another fire ball at Wyatt. The blond witch was once again frozen.

But just like before, someone pushed him to the ground just in time.

Wyatt looked up only to come face to face with a spitting image of Alex – well, apart from the attire.

The teen stared at the demon his eyes screaming bloody murder as the thing blew up along with his allies.

Then it was quiet.

After a few seconds, Wyatt actually managed to gasp: "What...how... Am I dreaming?"

**Dream 2**

This place was creepy. Hard, solid ground, stone walls so high you couldn't even see the sky. Nevertheless , a cold wind was blowing around the corners.

Alex didn't even bother where it was coming from. He had already enough trouble seing something in the light fog wavering through the floors he was stumbling along.

"What the heck have I gotten myself into now?!", the blond teen mused.

He had been wandering around this place for what felt like hours, with no trace of his twin brother. Where the hell was Nicky? They were supposed to do this trip together, but since he had arrived here he was alone.

"Looks like the spell backfired.", Alex thought disgruntled.

He had already tried to orb out of this place, but since he couldn't control this power properly, he had only managed to orb a few meters. It was strange enough that his powers were working here at all.

After all, this place wasn't real. He was in his father's dreams. Well, at least he hoped so.

Alex contemplated calling out for his brother once again, like he did when he first arrived here, but quickly decided against it.

"If this was a horror movie, calling out would only tell the killer where I am.", the teen muttered.

Considering his environment, he wouldn't be the least bit surprised meeting some creepy guy with a hockey mask behind the next corner.

Slowly entering the next floor, Alex nearly screamed out loud when he noticed a figure standing a few feet away from him.

He came to an abrupt stop and narrowed his eyes to make out more details of the person.

From what he could see through the fog it was a woman.

Apparently she felt his look on her, because she suddenly spun around and took a few steps towards him.

The closer she got, the more details Alex could see.

She was tall and thin, actually very thin. Her long brown hair was reaching her thighs. She wore a white dress, that reminded him a bit of a night gown from an old movie. It was long and old-fashioned.

She had a pretty face and appeared to be in her early twenties.

But it was her expression that made him backpedaling the way he came.

It was cold and hard, like a death mask. Only her eyes seemed to be alive. There was a dark flash in them that promised nothing good.

Alex swallowed thickly. He briefly wondered what a person like this was doing in his father's mind.

"Uh, hi...", he stuttered. "Can you tell me where I am?"

She didn't answer, only continued stepping towards him.

"I take that as a 'no'.", Alex murmured as he moved further backwards.

"Look, I'll leave you alone. I just want to see where Wyatt...", he didn't get to finish his sentence as she suddenly attacked him with electrokinesis.

With a surprised scream, Alex instinctively orbed out of the way.

When he reappeared a few meters away he didn't even bother to look back as he ran for his life.

As he rushed through the various floors, his mind registered briefly that apparently he was stuck in a labyrinth.

He threw a short glance backwards and saw a some lightening form a scorch mark on the wall behind him. Great, she was after him!

Alex gave even more speed and prayed silently: " Please, anything but a dead end."

Unfortunately, fate had a cruel sense of humor. When the next set of lightening struck dangerously close to his feet, Alex fell to the ground hard, not even reaching a dead end.

When he turned over, he realized that he had barked his elbows and hands. He could feel the throbbing pain. Wait, pain? Since when could you feel pain in a dream?!

When he looked up she stood a few steps away from him. Her expression hadn't changed at all. There was no pleasure, no victory, no satisfaction, nothing! Alex didn't want to admit it, but truth be told this woman was scarier then any demon he had met before. And she still hadn't said anything. It was like she had no emotions at all, like she was some kind of killing machine.

She raised her hand for a lethal strike.

That didn't came.

Instead, she suddenly went flying against the farthest wall.

Surprised, Alex turned his head around to see a tall man in his late twenties stepping towards him. The man didn't even look at him as he shot an energy ball at the woman.

She quickly sprang to the side to avoid it. When she stood up she simply stared at the man. The guy returned the stare. It clearly said: "Back off!"

After what felt like half an eternity, the woman finally surrendered and disappeared into another floor.

Alex sighed with relief – a relief that was short lived as the man grabbed his arm and roughly turned him towards him.

The teen's heart stopped for a second when he came face to face with a pair of angry eyes. It was Wyatt! Although not the Wyatt he met. This one looked a few years older.

His father studied him carefully. Slowly, the anger left his eyes. After a few moments, recognition began to settle in.

"Baby?", he asked incredulously.

**Dream 1**

Nicky returned his gaze to the shell shocked young man lying beneath him. "Seems like it.", he answered vaguely.

Then his gaze dropped on his dead twin lying next to them. "Oh God, Alex!"

"This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This just can't be happening.", the teen thought panicked.

But just as he reached out for his brother, his body flickered and disappeared, as did Benji's.

The vanishing seemed to bring Wyatt out of his frozen state and he sat up slowly.

After recovering slightly, the twice blessed pulled his mind away from his memories and instead focused on his kid.

"So, I guess you're Nicky then?"

"In the flesh.", the 14-year-old replied as he turned his focus to him.

Remembering Nicky's earlier words, Wyatt frowned. "But how can I dream of you if I haven't even met you, yet?"

Nicky looked sheepishly at him. "Well, that's going to be a longer story.", he declared as he started to fill his father in.

**Dream 2**

Alex tried to swallow the lump in his throat that prevented him from speaking. He was red with embarrassment.

His father had gathered him in his arms as soon as he had recognized him. When the golden glow of his hands started to chase the pain coursing through his elbows and hands away, he couldn't help but close his eyes and relish the safety of his fathers presence.

He felt Wyatt's hands touch the outlines of his face, as if trying to memorize it like a blind man.

"You are big!" the twice blessed stated suddenly in a child like awe.

Opening his eyes at the sound of his fathers voice, Alex stared a bit dumb fonded at him. "Well, of course I am, I'm 14-years-old."

"And you have your mother's eyes.", Wyatt continued as he looked his kid up and down.

Alex didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, his fathers head shot up. He seemed to listen to something only he could hear. He quickly stood up and pulled his son to his feet.

"We gotta go.", he stated as he dragged his son along with him.

Alex struggled to keep pace with his father. "Why? What's wrong?"

Wyatt didn't look at him as he answered. "White Lady's gone, but Black Widow is near."

"Who?"

Wyatt then spun around and grabbed Alex shoulders painfully.

"You gotta get away from her. She doesn't know what she's doing, no one here does anymore. There is just pain and hurt and anger and cold and they are stuck! We are all stuck. We try running. We are all on the run, always. But there's no way out!", he rambled.

Alex was beginning to wonder if his father had lost his marbles in this labyrinth. There was a crazy glint in his eyes that made the teen extremely nervous.

Still, he had to ask: "Running? Running from who?"

"The Minotaur."

**Dream 1**

Wyatt tried to comprehend all that Nicky had said. The kid had babbled like a waterfall; the man wondered where his son took the time to breathe.

Nevertheless he was proud of his boys.

They had managed not only to create a spell on their own, but also found a brilliant way to trick Lara's magic and contact them.

His sister-in-law had a good reason to be aware of them, Wyatt thought with satisfaction.

"Well, and then I ended up here alone. I just don't know what went wrong." Nicky finally closed.

Wyatt then dropped a calming hand on the distressed teens shoulder. "Nothing went wrong, Nicky. Just not the way you imagined it. You have to know that magic sometimes works in mysterious ways, but it works in any case."

Nicky felt relief wash through him. So, they didn't screw up completely. Still, he was a bit worried. "But what are we supposed to do now?"

Wyatt then looked his son straight in the eye. "Don't worry kiddo, we'll get you out of there. In the meanwhile you two should try to rest, you'll need your strength soon enough. And don't trust Lara with anything! Best would be to play along and gather as much information as possible. Try to get into my dreams again tomorrow night."

"I will.", Nicky promised. "And hopefully with Alex next time.", he added silently.

"Just..."

Wyatt looked curiously at his son. "Just what?"

Nicky hesitated a moment before he answered. "Just try not to have a nightmare next time."

Wyatt then laughed for the first time since Nicky had met him. "I'll try my best."

Suddenly they heard Chris voice from somewhere. "WYATT! WAKE UP!"

**Chris bedroom, early morning**

Wyatt bolted upright in **Chris** bed.

His younger brother was sitting at his side and looked at him worried. "What's wrong? Bad dream?"

"More like a prophetic one.", Wyatt mumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

**The boy's bedroom, early morning**

Nicky slowly woke up. His brother was next to him, still asleep.

Alex looked troubled.

Nicky decided to put him out of his misery and started to shake him softly. "Alex, wake up."

**Dream 2**

The blond teen was about to ask his father who or what 'the Minotaurus' was, when he suddenly heard Nicky's voice. "ALEX, WAKE UP."

He looked panicked at his father as he started to fade from his arms.

**The boy's bedroom, early morning**

Alex jolted awake, causing Nicky to stumble backwards and fall off the bed.

"Whoa, easy there, brother.", his twin stated as he scrambled back to his feet.

But Alex just stared frustrated at him. "Why did you wake me up?"


	24. Chapter 23: You think he's asleep?

**Chapter twenty-three: You think he's asleep?**

**Chris old apartment, early morning**

The tension in the room was almost unbearable.

After **Chris** had finally come back, Benji and Chris had gathered everyone back together in the living room.

They all looked terrible. Pale faces, huge bags under the eyes. 24 hours without or just a little bit of sleep could do that to you.

Therefore Benji could have hugged Adrianna for making some coffee for all of them.

The coffeine it held was sure needed as Wyatt dropped the latest bomb shell about Nicky contacting him in his dream.

The relief about knowing the boys were ok was however short lived as Wyatt filled them in about the things he'd learned.

They were glad that the twins had discovered a way to communicate with them (at this point, **Chris** was smiling with gratification), but it didn't make getting them away from Lara any easier.

Finally, it was Anna who asked out loud what they all wondered:

"How are we supposed to get them back?"

**Chris** shook his head. "**We** aren't getting them back. **I** will. It's too dangerous for you. I had a little chat with our demon-friend back at your place.", he nodded to Adrianna. "Lara's manor is better protected than Fort Knox. There are magical barriers, both magical and non-magical alarms, a high tech security system and last but not least our beloved probes." **Chris** was shooting his brother a nasty glare as he said the last part. After all these flying spys were his creation.

Wyatt was smart enough not to reply.

Adrianna jumped up. "I don't care how dangerous it is! I'm going with you! I want my son back! "

"Yeah, me too!" Jesse agreed as he and Anna went to stand next to Adrianna for emphasis.

"The hell you will!"** Chris** barked.

"Watch us!"

"Ok, enough!" Benji interfered as he put himself between his friend and the seething parents.

Bianca stood up, too. "Benji is right. This doesn't get us anywhere."

Adrianna shot Benji a desperate look.

Taking a deep breath, Benji stepped towards her and took her hands in his. Having picked up a thing or two from **Chris**, he looked intently in her eyes and said: "Adrianna. I know exactly how you feel. I care about him as much as you do. But you don't stand a chance against Lara and her hunchmen."

It worked. Adrianna's anger was melting faster than ice in the sunshine. Her eyes teared up. "You gave him to me that night, Benji. You placed him in my arms, begging me to take good care of him..."

"And you did. For the last thirteen years you did. But now it's **Chris** turn - and mine, too." Seing she was about to protest he added. "You are a wonderful mother Adrianna. And I promise you we'll bring him back to you. But you have to trust us on this one. Please Adrianna. I can't let anything happen to you."

That did it. It seemed to take forever, but finally Adrianna surrendered.

Benji then shifted his gaze to Nicky's adoptive parents. He realized that Jesse was staring intently at **Chris** and vice versa. The two of them seemed to have some sort of unspoken communication. _"You'll bring him back, won't you?"_, Jesse's look seemed to say. And **Chris'** answered _"I will."_

After a final huff, Jesse relaxed.

Feeling the tension in the room ease, Chris got back to the task at hand.

"But how do you wanna get them out of there?", he questioned his older self.

"I'm going to pay Lara a little visit.", **Chris** replied grimly.

Bianca narrowed her eyes at him. She had heard what Wyatt had said about Lara telling Nicky that she wanted them to be a family again and she clearly remembered that demon she had vanquished talking about his queen and how pleased she would have been to have Chris back. She didn't like the idea of her fiancé going to meet that slut that seemed to be hell'bent at getting her filthy hands on him one bit!

"If you do this, you'll play right into her hands!", the young phoenix witch stated, barely able to keep the jealousy out of her voice.

"You think I don't know that?!", **Chris** spat.

"**Chris** you can't do that!" Benji shouted. "That's exactly what she wants!"

"No, it's what she thinks she wants." **Chris** declared calmy. "Well, she should be more careful what she wishes for!", he added with a grim face.

Wyatt who had restrained so far, now raised an eye brow at his older little brother. He had spent enough time with Chris to knew that tone. His brother had a plan!

**The boys bedroom, early morning**

Nicky stared dumbfonded at his twin.

They had just told each other about their little dream trips – although in Alex case it had sounded more like he had been on drugs.

"Ok, I'm trying to comprehend that.", Nicky muttered as he paced around the room. "We did this spell to get into Wyatt's head. But because there are apparently two versions of him in this time and we didn't say which one we wanted to talk to, the spell split us up and sent one of us to the present version and the other to the past version of our dad."

"That'd be correct.", Alex confirmed.

Nicky flopped down next to him. "Jeez, Wyatt wasn't kidding when he said that magic sometimes works in mysterious ways."

Alex couldn't help but grin.

"Talking about Wyatt", Nicky continued. "What's it with this whole Labirinth-with-White Ladys-and-Black Widdows-who-try-to-kill-you-crap? I mean why would someone be dreaming such a thing? Granted, I have had enough weird dreams myself, but this is just too crazy!"

That sentence set Alex a while he answered: "I don't think that's Wyatt's creative imagination. It is... more like someone had put this whole stuff in his head, you know?"

Nicky looked curious at his brother. "But who would do such a thing? And why?"

"Why?" Alex frowned. "Good question. Maybe to relegate him to the background? I mean, think about it. Your adoptive dad believed Wyatt was dead. But now we know for sure that he's alive – had been the whole time for that matter. So, why did he disappear? And why didn't he come back?"

Nicky realized where this was going. "Because someone prevented him from doing so."

Alex nodded. "That's exactly what I think."

Now it was Nicky's turn to frown. "But why put this weird stuff in his head?"

His brother was silent for a minute. "When I talked to our father he seemed to be... a little crazy. He rambled about things... he said something about being trapped there. That he couldn't get out. What if... what if this dream somehow prevents him from waking up?"

Nicky gaped at him. "You think he's asleep? Like sleeping beauty?"

Alex snorted. "Dude, you read to many fairy tales!"

His twin just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. But if someone had put this dream in his head to prevent him from waking up, don't you think he would have died from starvation or dehydration by now when he's sleeping the whole time?"

"Not if it's a magically induced sleep. As far as I remember, sleeping beauty didn't die in her sleep either – and she was sleeping 100 years!"

Nicky shrugged. His brother had a point in here. "But why put him to sleep to get rid of him? Why not just kill him?"

"Because our father is the most powerful magical being in the whole world. I'm pretty sure he can't be killed that easy. It surely requires great power to beat his magic. Maybe his attacker wasn't powerful enough to do it. So, he put a sleeping spell on him to get him out of the way."

"And why not kill him in his sleep?"

"Because our powers are self-defensive."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean they seem to activate themselves everytime the owner is in great danger."

Seing Nicky's surprised look, he continued: "Listen, the first time I used my pyrokinesis was to defend myself. I didn't even plan it. I was pretty upset, you know? School isn't exactly the safest place on earth. There was this big bullie. He was pretty keen on making mincemeat of me. He pushed me to the ground hard. I turned over and my gaze fell on his shoes. Next thing I knew, his shoelaces were burning."

Nicky grimaced. "Outch!"

Alex grinned a bit. "Yeah, I guess you can say that loud. But back to business. As I was saying, dad's powers would prevent him from being murdered, so instead he's now taking a nap time."

"But who would do this to him?"

At that moment, their aunt shimmered in.

**Chris old apartment, early morning**

"So, what are you going to do?" Wyatt pressed. "How do you wanna get into that building? Are you taking Benji with you? Is he supposed to drain Lara to death like he did with that demon back in that ally?"

"Wait a second, you did what?!", **Chris** asked surprised as he turned to his friend.

Benji didn't look at him. He didn't want to see the disappointment that was written all over his friends face.

He deserved it, though.

He had promissed **Chris** to not use this power anymore. Not after what had happened the last time.

He clearly remembered that incident with Calleion.

It had been in the beginning. Chris had just became his whitelighter and Wyatt and Isabelle hadn't been together then. Calleion had been a very powerful demon, not willing to surrender to Wyatt. And to prove his point he had hurt Chris – badly. Of course, Wyatt had healed Chris - thanks to Isabelle finding him so quickly! When Isabelle had returned to their current appartment, Benji hadn't taken the news well. He had started to love Chris like an older brother, owing him big time.

_*flashback*_

_Benji was fuming. "I'm going to kill that bastard!"_

_Isabelle quickly stepped in his way. "Forget it! I'm not letting you go after this demon! That would be suicide!"_

_He was staring hard at her. "Move, Isabelle!"_

_She shook her head vehemently without letting him out of her sight. "No!"_

_He tried to push her out of his way._

_Isabelles hands were gripping his arms tightly, trying to bring his forward momentum to an halt._

"_Isabelle, I mean it! Get out of my way!"_

"_So you can get yourself killed? Sorry, not going to happen little brother."_

_Benji pushed harder, causing his big sister to stumble a few steps back._

_Knowing that trying to beat her baby brother with pure strenght wasn't getting her anywhere, Isabelle then changed her tactics._

_Instead of pushing against him, she let go of his arms, squated down and strechted her leg out in an half circle to pull him off his feet._

_Benji tumbled to the floor. She was on him in an instant pressing her lower arm down hard on his back to prevent him from getting up._

_The young man struggled hard beneath her. He eventually managed to turn on his back._

_His sister was straddling him, pinning him down with all her weight. He managed to grab her arms but couldn't get her off of him._

_His anger then got the best of him along with his powers. Isabelle went suddenly rigid, staring at him in shock as she went limp and collapsed to his side._

_Benji then blinked, unsure of what had just occured._

_He rolled on to his side to come face to face with his big sister as she layed motionless next to him._

_His anger quickly turned into shock and then horror as he realized that he had just drained her energy with his powers. He had just hurt his big sister! He had used his powers against her!_

_He started shaking her, hoping against hope she would wake up. "Isabelle? Wake up! Oh God, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to... how could I.... come on, wake up! Please wake up, please!"_

_But it was useless. His sister continued to lie limply in his arms, like a broken doll. The guilt threatened to swamp him. He felt sick to his stomach._

_Benji was horrified. He couldn't loose her! Not like this! In his panic he did the only thing he could think of: He screamed for Chris._

_By the time the tiny white and blue orbs started to form into a body the tears were flowing down freely from his cheeks._

_*end flashback*_

Benji clearly remembered Chris shocked expression at finding the woman he had started to consider as an older sister lying motionless in his arms.

But he had reacted quickly. He had lifted Isabelle up in his own arms and had brought her to Wyatt.

While he had healed her, Chris and him had talked about what happened. That day, Benji had sworn not to use that power anymore. That shock in Isabelles face and the disappointment in Chris' was something he had never wanted to see again.

Too bad that things never go the way you plan them.

"I didn't do it on purpose.", he finally muttered as he risked a glance at **Chris**. "I was defending myself and it just... it just happened."

He noted Adrianna's slight frown and prayed with every fiber of his being she wouldn't say anything.

He knew she had seen him draining that demon who had attempted to kill him back at her place off his life energy. Even though he had done it again to defend himself, he couldn't deny that this time he did it on purpose. It was hard not use a power when your life was at stake, even if you knew how much damage it could do.

That was why he had connected to Wyatt quite easily. His brother-in-law with all his powers knew exactly how Benji felt and what he was going through.

To his luck Adrianna remained silent.

**Chris** finally huffed. Letting it go for now because they had greater problems, but with a we-are-so-going-to-talk-about-that-one look at Benji he focused back on his brother.

"Benji's staying here with you guys."

Seing the black haired mans head shot up he quickly continued: "Besides Bianca, he's the only magic defense you have. And you will need it! Lara doesn't things by halves! After getting the real parents out of the picture, she'll now wipe out the parent-substitudes and every other person who stands in her way of creating her own little family."

Bianca noticed the look he was giving her as he said the last part. Apparently his younger self noticed it too, seing as he protectivly put an arm around her waist.

Anna furrowed her brows. "Her own little family?!", she echoed. "You mean she wants to raise the twins by herself? Together with you and Benji?"

Benji let out a bitter laugh. "I don't believe she wants me in the picture. Lara and me have never been on good terms."

He didn't bother to tell her that Lara didn't really want the twins either. She just wanted them as long as she didn't had an heir herself. But if she would get **Chris**, Benji was sure that was going to change soon.

**The queen's manor, early morning**

Lara let her hand slide over the soft material of the tiny sheets.

Jerek had returned a few hours hour ago with the ingredients of the love potion.

There had been full moon tonight, so she had decided to not waste anymore precious time and had immediately started with the potion.

Now she carefully placed a little red vial in the center of the tiny pillow.

"_Soon Chris, soon."_, she thought.

After finishing the potion, she had slept only two or three hours, but that wasn't bad – she had never needed much sleep. It was one of the first things Chris was going to find out about her, she thought lecherous.

About half an hour ago she had gone to wake the twins, only to find them up already and chatting. She had given them 30 minutes to shower and get dressed properly.

As she now made her way to take them to the dining room for breakfast, she once again let her hand slide over the soft sheets.

She spared a last glance at the little vial.

It rested secure in the cradle that was forming the front part of her large bed.


	25. Chapter 24: So we have a deal then?

_Hi, I'm back again. Sorry, but this chapter took me a while._

**Chapter twenty-four:**** So we have a deal then?**

**The boys bedroom, early morning**

After their aunt had visited them half an hour ago, the twins were getting ready for the day.

With his brother already fully dressed, it was now Alex turn to change his clothes. Shirtless, but with his jeans still on, he went for the closet.

When Alex opened the door his jaw dropped.

"You gotta be kidding me!", he exclaimed. The whole closet was full of nice neat clothes.

Nicky, who had heard his brothers sudden outburst, joined him in front of the closet. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?!", Alex echoed. He pointed angrily at the contents of the closet. "That's what's wrong! Look at this! I won't dress like some Dandy!"

Nicky couldn't help but grin. "Actually, it would be good for your image!"

His twin looked at him like he had just exclaimed the sky was green. "Are you out of your mind? It would totally ruin it!"

At that, Nicky gave him an evil smile. "That's the plan!"

Alex looked now ready to commit murder. He grabbed his brother by the collar and growled: "Listen princess, just because we are twins, doesn't mean I have to look like your freaking reflection!"

Nicky carefully placed his hand over his brothers, which was still gripping his collar. Now serious, he answered: "I don't think you have much of a choice – unless you wanna go naked."

"Ah yeah? Watch me!" Alex hissed as he let go of his brother. He then stamped into the closet, pulled out a black button-up-shirt and with an angry movement, ripped the neatly pressed sleeves off.

Pleased with the result, he loosened up the buttons and pulled it on. Deciding to keep his own jeans on as well, he turned with a triumphant smile to his shell-shocked sibling.

Nicky's jaw had dropped to the ground. Having difficulties to lift it back up, he stammered: "Ehr... well... that's one way to solve it."

As if on cue, Lara shimmered back in to take them for breakfast.

When she saw Alex and the ripped off sleeves on the ground, her mouth opened slightly. "I will not get mad! I will not get mad! I will not get mad!", she repeated over and over in her head.

Finally, she forced a little smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and said: "Alex, honey if you didn't like the clothes then why didn't you just tell me?"

Alex looked surprised at her. He had expected a fit. "Well, I didn't know how to tell you."

At this, Lara's face softened. "Oh honey, you don't have to be afraid of me. I promise you two can tell me everything."

But Alex shook his head. "No I didn't know **how** to tell you.", he declared, empathising the word 'how'.

"Oh. That's no problem, you just have to call out for me.", Lara explained. "This room is magically aimed at your needs. You need something, just call out for it."

"Oh, ok."

"Whatever. Let's go have breakfast!", their aunt said as she took hold of their arms and shimmered them to the dining room.

**The dining room, early morning**

At breakfast, Alex and Nicky shared a look.

"So, how did you and Chris met?", Nicky finally asked.

"You mean for the first time?", Lara tried to precise.

The twins nodded. The dark haired woman smiled at the memory. "I first met him during a fight." Seeing her nephews raised eye brows, she continued: "I didn't knew he was the brother of my half-sisters boyfriend. Well, it was before your parents came together, so of course I couldn't have known about him and Wyatt."

"And why were you fighting?", Alex intervened.

"Good question.", Lara admitted."It all started with this stupid witch. I didn't even catch his name. He was a former friend of your uncle. I believe the two of them had worked together at the resistance. However, it was at the time when the last strongholds of the resistance began to crumble.

I was looking for your mother, so after I scried for her I stumbled along half ruined houses – last remains of the former strongholds – when I ran into a group of were scared, paranoid. And because I was a stranger, one of them must have thought I was a threat. He attacked me, shouting at the others to get away. I had no other choice but to defend myself.

Granted, I wasn't in a good mood at all and this stupid witch just pissed me off.

_*flashback*_

_Lara was fed off! She threw a shock wave at him - which seemed to bounce off an invisible barrier._

"_What the... " Confused, Lara turned around only to come face to face with one of the most gorgeous guys she had ever seen. "Who are you?"_

_His eyes sparkled dangerously. __"Your worst nightmare – if you won't leave him alone!"_

_Lara raised an eye brow. This guy had guts! Smiling she answered "What do you think you could possibly do to stop me?"_

"_This!" With a wave of his hand a large piece of wood came flying towards her._

_Lara easily dodged it. "You thought it would be that easy?", she mocked._

_Instead of an answer, Chris threw her telekinetically to the side. "Get lost!", he screamed at his friend. The witch didn't hesitate and ran._

_When Lara got back up she realized that her prey had escaped. Angry she turned to Chris. "You're going to pay for that!" The next shock wave was directed at him._

_He simply beamed himself out of harm's way. "Do you prefer credit card or cheque?"_

_At that, she took the offensive. _

_The first punch she threw at him he quickly sidestepped, using her forward momentum against her to send her to the ground._

_However, Lara managed to catch herself with her hands and kicked back behind her. Her foot landed in Chris stomach and he stumbled backwards, crashing into some old paletts._

_Grinning she got to her feet and walked towards him._

_When she stood in front of him and raised her hands to send another shock wave, Chris reacted quickly and threwher of her feet._

_Unfortunately she didn't fall back, but on top of him._

_Lara couldn't deny that she liked this position. Feeling his warm body beneath her, his green eyes staring at her, his lips just inches from her own ones..._

_Her breath hitched the longer s__he lay on top off him. "You can also work it off."_

_Angry, he threw her off of him. "Do I look like I have to stand for that?!"_

_Lara grinned again. "No, but you sure have the references."_

"_Thanks!", Chris commented sarcastically as he directed an iron bar at he, which was vanquished half way by another shock wave._

_Suddenly they heard a shout. "Chris!"_

_When they turned around, they saw __a young black haired woman with leather jacket and a plait pony tail heading towards them. It was Isabelle. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw the person Chris was fighting with._

_The two sisters stared a few moments at each other - Isabelle unbelieving, Lara almost guilty._

"_We'll continue this another time.", Lara said as she shimmered away, not wanting to go on with the fight in front of her half-sister._

_Chris turned surprised to Isabelle. "And what the hell was that?"_

_*end flashback*_

"How romantic!", Alex commented sarcastically.

"Very funny Alexander."

"Don't call me that!"

"Why not? It's a beautiful name. Many powerful leaders were named Alexander."

"Who did choose our names?", Nicky intervened.

"Your mother did."

"And why did she name me 'Alexander'?"

"It was your grandfathers name."

"And mine?"

"Your grandmothers name was Nicole. Wyatt and Chris had insisted that your names had a reference to the family."

Alex cracked up. Grinning he turned to his brother. "You were named after a woman?!"

"Shut up!", Nicky scolded.

Lara chuckled. "When I see you two arguing, it's like being ten-years-old again and watching my siblings."

Nicky and Alex both turned their attention back to their aunt. "Yeah?", they asked in sinc.

"My sister was a constant teaser. She could annoy me and Benji to no end. Probably one of the reasons she and Chris got along so well. They both could be absolute nerv-racking."

"What did she do?", Nicky wanted to know.

"She had the habit of always ruffling Benji's hair – damn, did he hate that!"

"And you of course have never teased anyone?" Alex snorted.

Lara looked at him with fake innocence. "No, of course not – well, besides Chris... and Benji when I called him 'Benjamin'... oh, and my sister when I called her 'Isi'."

Alex nodded. "Right. I can practically see your hallow gleaming."

Nicky grinned. "Don't forget the little white wings on her back."

"And the horns on her forehead."

"And the devils tail behind her."

"Are you making fun of me?!", Lara replied grimly.

Nicky and Alex looked innocent at her. "No. As if we would do such a thing!"

Lara narrowed her eyes at them. "Stop saying everything simultaneous!"

"Ok.", the twins answered.

"That's enough. Breakfast's over."

She brought them back to their room.

**The boys bedroom, morning**

After she had shimmered out again, Alex snorted. "Back in the golden cage again. Home sweet home!"

Nicky was clearly frustrated. "I wanna get out of here!"

"Yeah me too. Well we could get out – if you tell me how!", came the ironic reply.

Nicky was ready to hit his brother. Instead he hissed: "You're a goddamn smart-ass you know that?!"

"I know.", his sibling admitted. "But it's not my fault – apparently its hereditary."

"True." Nicky answered. "But that's not going to get us out of here."

Suddenly the door to their room opened on its own accord.

The twins stared perplexed at each other.

**The queen's manor, morning**

"These kids are going to be the death of me one day." Lara murmured as she massaged her temples.

"Either them or I.", she suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her.

And there he stood. Beautiful and breath taking as ever. Of course, he had grown older, but he was in top condition. His soft features had hardened he was more muscular, his hair now hung in dark bangs into his face and he had grown a small goat around his chin.

„What…You?", she smiled. „I knew you'd find a way in here – althrough I'm really interested in how you did it."

"Actually, it wasn't that easy. I had to find the door bell first. Getting to you wasn't that hard.", Chris replied being his usual smart-ass self and pointed at Jerek.

The red haired demon grinned thriumphantly at his queen. "I thought I'd bring you what you wanted."

Lara narrowed her eyes at him. "Thanks!", she gritted out. "And now get lost!"

After Jerek had left the room, Chris turned his attention back to Lara. "So, he brought you what you wanted, huh?"

Lara smiled calmly at him. "Is it really that much of a surprise for you?"

"Where are the twins?"

Lara chuckled a bit. "Straight to the point, huh? But that's ok. You always knew what you wanted."

"Same goes for you. Where are they?"

"Fourth floor, third door on the right."

"That was too easy. Where's the snag?"

"There isn't one. You can go see them. Now... and for the rest of your life!"

"Pretty possessive now, aren't we?"

"Of course. You have no idea how much I've missed you, Chris."

"Really? Too bad I can't say the same thing about me!"

"Ow, now you're hurting my feelings!"

"That's not the only thing I will hurt if you won't give me my nephews!"

"You know, they are my nephews, too."

"Only half!"

"That can be helped easily. You just have to marry me."

"Forget it!"

"You were always one playing hard to get."

"Not that that would have bothered you!"

"What can I say? I always liked challenges."

"If you want a fight, you can get one!"

"And the stake?"

"If I win, you'll let the twins go."

"And if I win, you'll do me the honor of having a drink with me."

Chris snorted. "What, you wanna poison me? Or simply get me drunk to get into my pants?"

"Are you planning to insult me? As if I'd need alcohol to get laid! And just for the record: Poison is beneath me!"

Chris eyed her suspiciously. "What is it good for then?"

She shrugged. "Maybe I just want you with me for a little while longer."

Chris narrowed his eyes at her. "Be careful what you wish for!"

"So we have a deal then?"

"Do I have another choice?"

"Sure! My bedroom is already waiting for you."

At that statement, Chris threw her telekinetically against the nearest wall.

Lara stood up laughing. "Fine, if that's how you want it we are going for the hard tour then."

When she threw a shock wave at him, Chris barely had time to jump out of the way, throwing her across the room again by just one look in the same motion.

He didn't wait for her to get up again as he sent a strong telekinetic blast at her, which she blocked just in time with another shock wave.

The way Chris telekinetic powers had grown so much that he was now able to rip the tiniest molecules of something apart was more than disturbing.

"Guess Chris had a point in here. It isn't about who got the most powers.", Lara thought while she got up. Chris only had two powers to attack someone or defend himself: Orbing and telekinesis. The latter he by now mastered so perfectly that he could do almost anything with it.

When she managed to get back on her feet, Chris had already taken the offensive.

He aimed an karate kick at her. When she dodged it he turned his circle momentum into a low half round kick.

"Damn", she thought. "Isabelle had taught him too well."

When Chris had started to hang out with her half-sister Isabelle had quickly noticed his lack in self-defensive and had been hell-bent to fix it.

The result was a now deadly trained witchlighter who sure gave her a run for her money!

The next two kicks hit her hard in the stomach.

When his foot hit the side of her head and she crashed in the table she had enough. Conjuring an athame in her hand she took a swing with it, making a cut in Chris upper arm.

His surprisement only lasted about half a second before he grabbed a candelabrum from the table and used it like a dagger to block her athame.

At the same time, he pushed his hand forward, again sending her flying across the room.

While she flew backwards, she threw the athame in his direction.

The dark haired witch jumped to the side.

The next second, an explosion threw him a few feet back. Lara's shock wave had hit the ground by a hair's breadth in front of his shoes.

He let his eyes travel a few seconds unbelieving between her and the hole in the ground.

Lara was as shocked as he was at what she had just done. "Now look what you have made me done!" She tried to sound angry but the slight trembling of her voice betrayed her.

Chris didn't answer, instead he stared darkly at her and sent the table flying in her direction.

She quickly shimmered out of harms way and back in behind him, shoving him with her weight to the ground.

When he turned around she straddled his waist, using her arms and legs to pin him down.

And here they were again, she on top of him, just like the first time thy met.

"Get off of me!", Chris growled.

Lara smiled seductively. "Why? It's comfortable."

Chris tried to get her off of him, but it seemed that she had learned from her past mistakes.

Eventually he managed to push himself up on his elbows.

Now there faces were so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek. His lips were only centimeters away from hers.

Lara couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss him while she gazed into his eyes. For a second she had the impression that he wouldn't even mind it.

However, that moment was over all too soon, when Chris let out a quiet huff and said: "Fine. I guess we are taking that drink then! Let me up!"

"What? Don't I get a kiss?"

"Maybe later.", came the cocky retard.

"I take you at your word."

When they stood up she asked him: "You want your Martini shaken or stirred"

Despite the situation, Chris couldn't help but grin a bit. "I'm not some secret agent you know?"

"But you sure fight like one – and I bet you look fantastic in a smoking."

"Yeah, you would like to see me in one, now wouldn't you?"

"If I could wear a certain white dress, of course."

Seeing Chris' look, she added: "What?"

"I'm thinking about the best way to express my protest."

"Ok, and while you're at it, I'm getting us something to drink.", Lara smiled and then called for Jerek.

He wasn't the least bit pleased to play the waiter, but returned a minute later with there drinks. After he left, Lara gave Chris the glass in her right hand.

After eyeing it suspiciously for a few seconds, the dark haired man returned his look to the woman in front of him.

"Well then, cheers!" Lara said after a few moments and took a sip of her drink.

Not letting her out of his eyes, Chris drank, too. He meant to just take a sip like her, but the fight had made him thirsty.

When the glass was empty, Chris suddenly started to have a bad cough.

The female witch eyed him worriedly.

When it was over, he straightened up and looked at her in wonder.

"Chris? Are you alright?"

"I've never felt better.", he said with a sudden smile while taking her in his arms. "After all, I'm with you."

The potion had worked! Lara couldn't believe her luck! Deciding she had waited long enough for this moment, she asked with a cute pout: "Do I get a kiss now?"

Chris laughed. "Everything you want baby, everything!" With that, he kissed her passionately.

Neither of them noticed two nearly identical heads peeking through the ajared door.

"We are so screwed!"


	26. Chapter 25: Any problems with Lara?

_Hi there, I'm back. Sorry for taking so long. But my computer and my internet access have conspired against me!_

**Chapter ****twenty-five: Any problems with Lara?**

**The boys bedroom, morning**

They staggered back in their room.

For a few seconds, neither one said a word.

Finally Alex blurted out: "Can you believe what we just have seen?"

Nicky shuddered at the sheer memory: "I'm afraid I have no other choice but to."

"You think that's funny?" His brother lashed out. "Our uncle has been literally "enchanted" by her! What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

**Chris old apartment, early morning**

Jesse was restless.

Chris had left a few hours ago, promising to get Nicky and his brother back.

Jesse still couldn't believe his good natured, caring and unique son could have a twin – and Wyatt as a father for that matter!

Powerless or not, having the cold hearted, cruel, merciless ruler of the magical community around didn't exactly set his mind at peace!

He still had trouble accepting the fact that someone so cold could have such a sweet kid, which made Jesse wonder what Nicky's twin was like.

Although he couldn't be so bad either, as far as he could tell, Adrianna was a strong and brave woman, he was sure she did a good job in raising him.

Anna had left the living room to make some more coffee – which was half an hour ago!

Curious, he went into the kitchen, stopping at the door frame.

His wife was sitting slumped down on one of the wooden kitchen chairs, head in her hands.

He felt his heart bleeding for her.

Slowly, Jesse stepped towards her, taking a seat on the chair next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders, softly pulling her to his chest. Their eyes met for a few seconds before she turned away, pressing her head under his chin.

"Don't worry.", Jesse said, sensing the reason for her distress. "Everything will be ok. We will get him back."

"I hope you're right.", she answered sadly. "It's funny, really. When he spent a few days at Brian's place, it didn't bother me that much. Now he's been gone for less then a day and I'm sick with worry. I miss him Jesse. I just want my baby back!"

By now, fat tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"And you will!" Jesse replied as he took her chin into his hand and lifted it 'till her eyes met his. "I swear you Anna, if Chris doesn't get him back, I will! No matter how good Lara's place is protected!"

Suddenly, they heard screams and the sound of shots coming from the living room.

"You stay here!", Jesse declared before he rushed to the door frame to peek around the corner into the living room.

What he saw made his heart drop in his chest.

Adrianna was lying on the floor, a big puddle of blood was forming around her midsection.

Benji was leaning against the side of the couch. The hand holding his arm was also covered in blood.

Bianca was fighting with a strange woman, who was also dressed in a black leather outfit, her half-automatic machine-gun was currently resting on the floor a few feet beside them.

The fight of the two women was hard and brutal.

Kicks and punches were flying with lightning speed between them.

"Ahr!"

The strange woman let out a pained scream as Bianca twisted her arm behind her back.

Jesse could swear that he heard bones breaking!

But the next second Bianca went sailing over the the woman's right shoulder and crashed hard onto the wooden couch table, staying down.

Seeing his fiancèe in danger, Chris, who had obviously sought shelter behind an arm chair, did something very brave – and very foolhardy!

He jumped onto the woman's back, sending both of them crashing to the ground.

With the elbow of her good arm, the assassin knocked him brutally in the face, sending him rolling off of her.

She quickly got to her feet again and pulled an athame from her belt, preparing to stab him when suddenly some more shots followed.

Incredulously, she stared a few seconds on the blood spots soaking her tight leather top, before lifting her gaze to find Wyatt with the machine-gun in his hands.

Apparently he had used the distraction to snatch it from the ground and was now still aiming it at her, his face a cold mask.

Jesse could see something flickering in her eyes – was it resignation? – before she collapsed dead to the ground.

**The boys bedroom, morning**

Nicky hesitated. "I think we have to try to tell our father about what has happened here.", he answered after a few moments.

Alex nodded in agreement. "Right... and which one?"

Nicky rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... You told me that your version of dad has been caught in a Labyrinth – I think he wouldn't be much help."

"Given the task that he stays there.", Alex countered.

Nicky furrowed his brows. "And how do you wanna get him out of there?"

His twin started pacing the room once again. "Damn good question! You know, I was thinking about that. I'm not stuck in this... , well, world – maybe I could be able to get him out?"

"Do you have an idea how to manage this? Maybe it would be more easy to get help from another person.", Nicky mused.

Alex looked curious at his brother. "Like whom?"

Nicky shot him a pointed look. Alex could be a bit slow sometimes. "Our other version of dad of course!"

The other teen started chewing at his lip before shaking his head. "Don't think so. In this time, he's powerless – that much I have found out."

Nicky wracked his brain. "What about...mom? I mean our mom?"

Alex gaped at him. "I thought she's dead?"

"Yeah." Nicky confirmed. "Should this be a problem for us?"

Now he had his brothers full interest. "So, you wanna.... what? Make a seance?"

Nicky nodded. "Yeah... Why not? After all, we are witches, aren't we?"

Alex seemed to contemplate this idea. "Well, it's worth a try. Lara said this room is aimed to please our needs, isn't it?" Not waiting for a reply he went on. "Ok then... Quija-board!"

Nothing happened.

"Maybe there's a list of things we can't summon, like drugs, alcohol or weapons.", Nicky came up with an explanation.

"Or magical things for that matter?" Alex grumbled.

His twin shrugged. "Looks like it."

But Alex wouldn't give up so easily. "Ok then. Pen!"

A pen appeared on the nearby table.

"Sheet of paper."

"Glass."

The two things appeared beside the pen.

Alex grinned triumphantly. "Now that's more like it."

Nicky was bemused. "What do you want with these things? Do you wanna play 'moving the glas'?"

Alex gave him a confident smile, which mimicked exactly his fathers. "That's the plan. As far as I know, it works the same way a Quija-board does."

Nicky looked impressed. "Well, if you think it works... let's try!"

"Yeah."

Alex began to write the alphabet on the sheet but suddenly his brother interrupted him: "Just, how do we make sure it's mom we are talking to?"

Alex mind was blank. "I have no idea – damn it, now we could use our father!"

Nicky nodded in agreement. "Problem is, as long as he's awake, we can't get into his dreams."

Alex grinned. "Right. **As long as**being the keyword here!"

Nicky couldn't help but return the grin. "So, what? You wanna cast a sleeping spell on him?"

"Exactly."

"Do you know one?"

"No, but we should be able to invent one."

Nicky looked concerned. "Then let's pray that this one will work better than our last creation – otherwise we'll have **two** sleeping beauties to wake!"

Alex shrugged. "Whatever. As long as we get "your" version of dad asleep, we will get help in any case."

Nicky closed his eyes, murmuring: "Forgive me father, for I'm gonna sin."

At that, Alex laughed. "You will be forgiven. Now stop being so dramatic and let's get this over with!"

His twin shot him a dark look. "Pardon me for having twinges of remorse to knock my own father out!"

Alex just rolled his eyes. "Believe it or not, I'm also sorry for having to be so rude, but we don't have another choice if we wanna get out of this cage!"

"True.", Nicky admitted. "So, let me think about it, ehm..., maybe it would be good to call on some higher powers with the spell?"

Alex now raised an eyebrow in appreciation. "Could work. So.. the higher powers we now call... ehm what rhymes on "call"?"

Nicky furrowed his brows in concentration. "Call? Hmm, all, fall, mall..."

"Fall, huh?" Alex repeated thoughtfully. "Yeah! In a deep sleep our dad shall fall. Now you!"

"When we are done... we will be gone?"

Alex contemplated this briefly. "Nah. Not really. But something like that. Maybe this way: When with his dreams we then are done..."

"the effect of this spell will be gone.", interrupted his brother.

Seeing Alex raise his eyebrows at him he scolded: "What? I just wanna make sure he will wake up again!"

His twin gave him a look. "We won't kill him!"

"Let's hope so, by goodness!"

Alex just shook his head. "Yeah. Ok, let's try this!"

They both flopped next to each other on Alex bed and started to chant:

"The higher powers we now call.

In a deep slumber our father shall fall.

When with his dreams we then are done,

the effect of this spell will be gone."

**Chris old apartment, early morning**

"Chris was right.", Benji panted after a few moments of silence. "Now that she's got the twins, we are outlawed."

"Just great!" Jesse muttered, feeling again like a resistance member. "Care to share what do we do now?"

The sound of Anna shrieking made him and the others turn towards her.

Wyatt had gotten up again and was leaning at the table; apparently he had knocked over a vase, soaking Anna in the process, who, now that the fight was over, had come back into the living room.

**The boys bedroom, morning**

After a few moments the twins looked unsure at each other.

"Do you think it worked?", Nicky finally asked.

**Chris old apartment, early morning**

Wyatt didn't know what was wrong with him.

He suddenly felt so tired! Feeling his eyes drop and his knees buckle, he tried to stabilize himself on a nearby table, throwing down a vase in the process.

The last thing he registered were his brothers arms catching him as he lost consciousness.

**The boys bedroom, morning**

"Well, there's only one way to find out. Ready?"

"As ready as I can be." Nicky replied.

They both started to chant the spell from before:

"I want to enter my father's mind.

A way in his dreams I wish to find.

To meet him there and get a clue,

What the hell I'm supposed to do."

Once again the two of them sank back on the bed.

**Dream 1**

He was back in his house. Only now it looked like a hurricane had rushed through it.

Everything was in pieces! The living room, the bedroom – everything!

Wandering down the hall he frowned even more. The door to Chris former room was ajared, a burned stuff animal lying on the floor.

Curious, Wyatt stepped into the room.

He noticed with surprisement that Chris room had been turned into a nursery; of course it was just as destroyed as the rest of his home.

The cupboards had been smashed, the cradle was turned upside down. Pieces of glass and furniture lay everywhere on the floor.

Suddenly he heared a voice behind him: ".God!"

When he turned around, he saw his son standing in the door frame – the question was only which one of the twins was this time in his head?

"Alex?" He asked unsure.

"That's not me.", came the answer.

"Nicky?", he tried again.

"That's me." Nicky smirked before he stepped over to his father.

After taking another look around, he blurted out: "Jeez, why do you always dream of creepy places?"

"The more interesting question is, why am I dreaming at all?" Wyatt replied sharply, noticing the slightly guilty expression of his son.

"Well, that would be our fault.", Nicky answered sheepishly.

Seeing his fathers expression darken, he added quickly: "But believe me, we had a good reason!"

His dad gave him a pointed look. "I'm listening – five words or less!"

Nicky folded his arms in front of his chest. "..- Badly!"

Now Wyatt got concerned. "Why? What's wrong? Any problems with Lara?"

His son snorted. "With Lara? No! Except for the fact that she has turned uncle Chris into a lovesick puppy!"

His father turned paler than a piece of chalk. "She did WHAT?!"

"You should have seen them playing tonsil-tennis – now THAT was a reason to get pale!", Nicky commented, shuddering at the pure memory.

Despite the situation, Wyatt started chuckling at his son's disgusted expression.

Getting a hold of himself, he asked: "Do you have an idea how she did this to him?"

"With her tongue?", came the sarcastic answer.

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "No, I mean how she enchanted him. Did she use a spell? Or a potion?"

Nicky frowned. "I guess it was a potion. Perhaps she did something in his drink."

His dad looked unbelieving at him. "They had a drink together?"

Nicky nodded. "After nearly killing each other, yeah."

Wyatt shook his head. "Now this is what I call "Kiss kiss bang bang"!", he murmured.

"Anyway." Nicky went on. "We need as much help as possible. Can you tell me how to communicate with a ghost?"

His father gaped at him. "You wanna tell me that you don't know this?"

Nicky returned his look. How in Gods name was he supposed to know that? "No, of course not."

"Did Chris teach you anything at all?", Wyatt asked, the disapprovement evident in his voice.

"Yes! I know what a whitelighter is!" Nicky retorted aggressive.

This time, Wyatt couldn't suppress a face palm.

**Dream 2**

Alex was once again surrounded by high walls.

"What a nice neighbourhood!", he thought sarcastically. "No wonder dad's going nuts!"

When he rounded another corner, he found a little boy with black locks and a teddy bear in his arms sitting on the floor.

"Hello?", he replied unsure. After his encounter with that White Lady he had gotten more careful.

The little boy turned around, his cute little face smiling up at him. He couldn't be older than five or six years.

"Hello.", the kid replied. Alex took a step forward – and regretted it the second he saw the chubby hands ripping the teddy's head off.


	27. Chapter 26: Who are you talking to?

_Hi, here's the next chapter for you (if there's someone out there who still reads this). You guys have gotten pretty lazy with your reviews! *pouts a bit* Please R&R again!_

**Chapter Twenty-six: Who Are You Talking To?**

_Previously on __CYTMWIA__:_

_The little boy turned around, his cute little face smiling up at him. He couldn't be older than five or six years._

"_Hello," the kid replied. Alex took a step forward – and regretted it the second he saw the chubby hands ripping the teddy's head off. _

**Dream 2**

"You wanna play with me?"

"Err… no, not really," Alex murmured as he started back-pedalling slowly.

The small boy gave him a devious smile. "But **I** wanna play with **you**!"

Suddenly, another wall appeared behind him. He was trapped.

The teen racked his brain to come up with a solution on how to get out of this one. "Okay... how about we play 'hide and seek'?"

The little one watched him with mistrustful eyes. "You wanna get rid of me?" he pouted.

"No!" Alex answered a little too fast. Then, getting himself together, he added, "I just... I don't wanna be found by this... Black Widow, you know?"

The boy seemed to contemplate this answer briefly before realisation hit him. "Oh! You mean the Sad Lady! Yeah, she isn't nearly as much fun as me!"

Somehow this declaration didn't calm Alex down in the slightest. "Oh really? Why not?" he asked, musing that he didn't really want to know.

The kid in front of him pouted. "She doesn't want to play! When **I** kill someone, I play with him first. But she doesn't! She's pretty mean, you know? She turns people into stone and then they can't play with me any more!"

"Oh yeah, she's pretty mean – if what you say is true," Alex replied getting more anxious by the second.

"Of course it's true! Come on, I show you something." And with that he grabbed the blond teenager's hand and dragged him with him.

After several minutes, they stopped in front of a stone figure.

"See that?" the kid asked. "That's her fault!"

Alex looked stunned at the stone figure. From what he could make out, it had once been a man in his early 40s.

However, after a few moments he straightened himself. He glanced at the kid beside him. The little devil spawn seemed to know a few things about this place and – more importantly - the other inmates. Maybe he could use this meeting to his advantage and gain some more information.

"You are right;" he admitted. "She's pretty mean. Are there more meanies here?"

The little boy beside him nodded eagerly. "Of course! The White Lady's really mean, too!"

'Who do you tell that?!' Alex thought dryly. "White Lady, huh? I think I know who you are talking about. I already met her."

"And you are still alive?" The small boy gaped at him. He sounded truly impressed.

"Yeah... barely," the teen answered. And then an idea hit him. "You know, I met someone else, too. Do you know a tall man with long blond curls?"

The little one scowled. "Yes, I know him! That's a really bad guy! He slapped me!"

Alex swallowed. "Memo to myself," he thought. "Never. Ever. Make. Dad. Mad!"

"That must have hurt!" he said sympathetically.

"It has!" the kid confirmed.

"Anyone else who slaps children?" Alex asked, curious.

Again the child nodded eagerly. "The breaker."

"Who?"

"The breaker," the boy repeated. "He likes to break people's bones."

The teenager grimaced. "Ouch!"

Thoughtfully, he looked at the kid in front of him. "If this place is so bad, then why are you still in here?"

The kid started crying. "I can't get out! These stupid big walls won't break! And the floors are endless. And if you aren't careful, the Minotaur comes to snatch you!"

That didn't sound good at all.

"So, there's a creature with a bull head running around here eating people?" Alex asked, remembering the Greek myth.

The little boy rubbed one chubby fist over his eyes in an effort to dry the tears. He would have been cute – if he hadn't told Alex about his killing spree!

Then again, after what he had just heard, Alex couldn't help but wonder if maybe in these circumstances that wasn't such a bad thing after all. Maybe the child had just tried to defend himself.

"I don't know, actually," the boy eventually came up with an answer. "Never saw him. Just heard about him."

"From whom?"

"The street girl told me. She's pretty fast, you know?"

Alex furrowed his brows. "How many people are stuck in here?"

"Lots and lots of people!" the kid exclaimed.

The teen raised one eye brow at him. "Could you be a bit more specific?"

The boy just shrugged. "Not really. I can't count that far yet."

Now that got Alex attention. "How old are you?"

The child raised one hand.

"You are five?"

The kid nodded.

Troubled, Alex pressed his lips together. "Then I guess you don't know how long you have been here already?"

He shook his head.

"What's your name?" the teen asked, getting concerned.

The black haired kid blinked up at him in confusion. "Don't know any more. I forgot it."

Alex became more uneasy by the second. The boy didn't know any more? How long does it take someone to forget his own name? "Sounds like you've been here for a very long time!"

Now that he looked closer at this little fellow, he realized that his clothes didn't fit in this century.

Again, the kid just shrugged. "There's no time in here. You'll see soon enough."

'Not if I have any say in it!' Alex thought, which brought him back to reason he was here. "I'd rather pay this big blond meanie who hurt you a little visit.

Two big brown eyes stared up at him. "Why? Did he hurt you, too?"

"Oh yeah," he replied, rubbing his upper arms. "He has a grip like an iron clamp." That wasn't even a lie. "I'd really like to express my discomfort. Question is, how can we find him?"

The boy shrugged.

"I've got an idea," Alex exclaimed after a few minutes. "This wall you made..."

"Yeah?"

"Can you make other things, too?"

"Of course I can! How do you think I got my teddy in the first place?" He waved the now headless teddy bear in front of his face.

Alex chose to ignore it. "How about you make a compass? You know, one which shows you in which direction all those meanies are? Think you can do that?"

The kid shrugged once more. "Can try it."

He concentrated and after a moment, a compass appeared in his hand. He gave it to Alex.

The teen looked impressed at the little thing in his hand. On the rim there were little pictures, each showing him another face. The compass had three needles; one of them you could move with a little wheel.

Alex guessed that with it you could choose the person you wanted to find. He looked at the pictures until he found the one of his father. Carefully, he fiddled with the wheel until one of the needles stood there. Immediately the second one began to point out the direction. The third needle didn't move, however. Perhaps it pointed out who came near him?

"Awesome!" Alex exclaimed.

**Dream 1**

"And you can summon every ghost you want?" Nicky was impressed. His father had just told him all about the experiences of his family when it came to summoning someone from the dead.

"No, unfortunately not every ghost," Wyatt replied, remembering the pain and anger he felt when he tried to summon his mother shortly after her death only to be greeted with his grand mother.

"Not every ghost cares about what happens to the living world afterwards. Most of them move on. Of course, some want revenge, but it takes a lot of time, will power, or anger and hate to become corporal again. As long as they aren't strong enough to do that, they are damned to wander around unseen and unheard. They are unable to do anything but watch. They attach themselves to places, things, or people that mean something to them. Most of them become mad. That's how evil spirits are born."

"So you think Mom could be some angry spirit?" Nicky replied, his mouth suddenly dry.

**Dream 2**

Alex wondered not for the first time what he did do to deserve this.

He and the little devil spawn had been wandering around for some time now, following the compass in order to find Wyatt.

**That** wouldn't have been that bad, **if** the little brat beside him didn't choose to use this opportunity to tell Alex all about his favourite torturing methods!

"Have you ever threatened someone with a hot poker? No? I tell you, there's no better way to get what you want if you threaten someone to burn his eye out!"

"I'll have to remember that!" the teen replied, barely managing to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

The way the kid talked about the torture – with such childish enthusiasm – sent shivers down his spine.

And then he realised it wasn't just the topic of their conversation that made him shiver. Somehow, it had gotten much colder. The wind had picked up in speed, making the place even more uncomfortable than it was already.

Having a bad feeling, Alex stopped walking and looked around.

A few meters behind them stood a pretty girl. She looked around his age, maybe one or two years older. She wore a white Greek stola, which built a nice contrast to her tanned skin and dark hair.

However, it were her eyes that alarmed him. They were stone cold. There was no emotion in them.

Not letting her out of his sight, he addressed his little 'friend' beside him. "Okay, and who's that?"

The little one looked irritated at him. "Who's who?"

"The girl there, behind us," he answered, pointing at her.

The kid turned around, looking bemused at the spot he was pointing at. "I don't see a girl!"

He couldn't see her? That didn't sound good.

"Who are you?" Alex called out the girl.

She didn't say anything, just played with the pendant of her necklace.

Taking a closer look at it, he realised it had the shape of a bull's head.

"Nice pendant," he said, sounding far more calm then he felt. Somehow he had the bad feeling that they had just found the Minotaur.

"Who are you talking to?" his little fellow squawked.

That brought her attention to him. Slowly, she extended her right arm. Not five feet from them, a maelstrom of air appeared on the ground out of nowhere.

Alex didn't move a bit, but the little boy beside him flew forward. Alex just managed to catch his hand before he was sucked into the maelstrom.

The kid screamed out in terror. "Help me!" he cried, clinging to his hand with all might.

Horrified, Alex tried to pull the boy back to him.

"What are you doing?!" he screamed at the girl. "Stop it!"

She brought her gaze back to him. Slowly, she shook her head, and then she lifted her extended arm higher.

The suction was getting even stronger, pulling mercilessly at the kid. Alex could feel his strength weaken, but also the boy's. He couldn't hold him any longer. With a final scream, the kid let go off his hand and was sucked into the maelstrom. And as quick as the thing had appeared, it disappeared again, leaving a crestfallen Alex behind. Sure, the kid had been evil but this... no one deserved **this**! He shot the girl a blaming look.

She just looked at him, empty of emotion, before turning and leaving him alone.

He watched her go, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

**Dream 1**

"Not necessarily. Some of those who move on check in from time to time on their beloved ones downstairs on earth," Wyatt answered, not wanting to upset his son.

It was funny, really. Two dreams of that kid and Wyatt felt emotions well up in him that he had long ago considered dead.

'You're getting soft! Get yourself together!' he thought angry with himself.

But when he glanced again at the pair of beautiful brown eyes in front of him, he couldn't suppress the love and concern he felt for this kid bubble up in is heart again.

If his mother had had the same effect on him then good night!

**Dream 2**

Alex was on the run. He was gripping the compass tightly in his right hand, terrified of losing it.

After his encounter with that so called Minotaur he had to find his father— fast, before he would also get sucked into that maelstrom.

He stopped in front of a wall. There were two ways to go. Left or right? A quick look at the compass and he sprinted down the right path.

He came to a halt once more when he noticed a tall man with long blond curls kneeling on the ground, crestfallen.

"Dad?" He took a step towards him – and jumped quickly out of the way when he was greeted with an energy ball.

Angered he barked, "What was that for?!"

His father looked at him like he just seen a ghost. He was deathly pale and shaking. His eyes were dilated and his expression shot daggers at Alex. "You! Go away! You're not real!"

Alex gaped at him. "Pardon me?! Of course I'm real! Are you out of your mind?!" He paused a moment then added, "Forget the last question."

Wyatt, while hugging himself, rocked back and forward like an autistic child. "But... you faded! You aren't real, are you?" He looked so confused and lost it wasn't funny any more.

The blond teen thought of a way to snap his father out of it. Coming up with a solution he gave him a grim smile. "If I ain't real... could I do this?"

With that he raised his hand and slapped his father's face – **hard**.

For a moment, his dad stared completely dumbfounded at him. "You slapped me!"

"Sorry, but it was the only way to prove to you I'm real." 'And it serves him right when he throws energy balls at me.'

Wyatt growled. "If this was any other time, I'd spank you so hard you wouldn't be able to sit for a week!"

Alex swallowed. "Let me set this straight: **You** attacked **me** first – not the other way around," he defended himself.

His father pulled a face. "Just like my brother – always have to have the last word!"

Thinking of his uncle, Alex even gave him a small smile. "Well, at least that proves I'm family."

His dad returned the smile for a second before he asked worried, "Are you going to fade away again?"

"Not yet – at least I hope so!"

"What do you mean? How come you can fade in and out of here? And where are you going?"

Now it was Alex turn to pull a face. "Long story short? Dear Auntie Lara has kidnapped Nicky and me from our adoptive parents, had held us in a 'golden cage,' and has now tricked Uncle Chris into drinking a love potion."

Wyatt stared in shock at his son. "How could your mother let this happen?!"

Alex bit his lip. His father obviously didn't knew about the death of his wife, which meant he was the one who had to tell him the bad news. Damn! He so didn't want to have that conversation. His dad was already half-crazy, who knew if he would lose it completely after such horrible news?


	28. Chapter 27: Upstairs?

_Hey there. I know it's been a long time. It took me forever to write this chapter._

**Chapter twenty-seven:**** Upstairs?**

**Chris old apartment**

Chris was one step away from freaking out completely. His brother lay motionless in his arms and no matter what he tried, he just wasn't waking up! He had already shaken him, slapped his cheek lightly, slapped it harder and called his name.

He was contemplating whether or not he should take the vase and split water in his face when he heard Benji screaming "No, no, no!"

When Chris looked up he saw Benji kneeling beside Adrianna's lifeless body, trying in vain to heal her. Jesse pulled the black haired witch gently, but determined away from her. Benji was fighting him half-heartily. Tears were silently flowing down his cheeks.

Chris sighed inwardly. Another dead body, another friend lost. How many else would die? Without notice, he tightened his hold on his brothers body.

**Dream 2**

Wyatt was grabbing the wall for support. "_She's dead_." His son's words echoed over and over in his head. Dead. Isabelle was dead. He would never see her again. His knees gave way and he slumped to the ground. He suddenly felt empty. It was as if someone had installed a black hole in his midsection which was now sucking everything out of him. His eyes fell on Alex. His son. His baby. Which was now half orphan. He screamed.

**Chris old apartment**

"I'm gonna kill that bitch!" Benji practically seethed with anger. After the first wave of sadness had passed he was now fuming. He brutally removed Jesse's arm and stormed over towards the door, not caring to step over the dead assassin, instead stamping mercilessly on her upper body.

'_Terrific!_,'Chris thought as he quickly let go of his brother and chased after the furious witch. He just managed to grip Benji's arm before he reached the door and spun him around so the black haired guy had to face him. "Benji stop! Stop it! Where do you think you're going?!"

"I'm fed up! I'm fed up with the people I care about dying around me like flies! I'm gonna go and do what I should have done a long time ago!" Benji tried to rip his biceps out of Chris grip.

"You'll only get yourself killed!"

"Doesn't matter!"

"Ah really? And who's gonna protect us when you're gone?!" Benji was now yanking and pulling and struggling fiercely against him and Chris tried hard not to loose his grip on him.

"You still have Bianca! Let me go, God damn it!" Not able to pull his arm loose, the black haired man now pushed hard against Chris.

"No!"

When this didn't help, Benji swung back his fist and punched his friend hard in the face. Chris went down pulling Benji with him. Outraged, Benji placed a hand on Chris chest. And just like Isabelle all those years ago, Chris suddenly went rigid under him, eyes wide with shock. Benji's blind rage had once again manifested itself in his power to drain other people's energy.

However this time he wasn't the only one in the room who could do it.

He suddenly let out a pained cry. Bianca had seen enough! Nobody was messing with **her **boyfriend! Without Benji even realising it, she had stepped behind him and had her hand now firmly punched into his unprotected back, sucking up his own energy with her abilities.

**Dream 2**

Alex was slowly backing away from his father who was howling in what he could only presume was rage and pain. His face was twisted in a mask of pure agony.

Around them the walls and the ground started to shake like there was an earthquake. The teen briefly remembered what his uncle Chris had told him about his powers being tied to his emotions. The stronger the emotions, the stronger the powers – the harder to control them.

'_This is so not good.,_' the boy thought. He wondered about the look his father had given him. Did he hate him now for being the bearer of the bad news? Would it have been better to keep his mothers death a secret? What damage would this news do to his fathers already confused mind?

He then felt a familiar pull. And maybe for the first time in his life he was glad to fade away into reality once again.

**Chris old apartment**

When Wyatt came around again he struggled to get hold of his nausea while sitting up. His head was throbbing painfully. He would have to speak a serious word with his boys about messing with magic of which they had no clue.

Narrowing his eyes against the bright sunlight shining in the room he slowly looked around. The first thing he registered was Bianca using her powers on a hunched down Benji. "What the hell are you doing?"

His words seemed to remind her of the situation. Reluctantly, the phoenix witch pulled her hand away from her prey.

Like a meal bag, Benji sacked down next to an already unconscious Chris.

**The boys bedroom**

Alex awoke with a start. The rushed movement made him dizzy and disoriented. His chest felt tight, he was still feeling the fear from his dream. Next to him his brother groaned as he too started to wake.

Nicky blinked several times before his eyes finally found his brother. Seeing the fear and confusion in his twin's face let him instinctively reach out to him, rubbing his arm in a light way, providing comfort. '_You ok?_', he asked silently – and was surprised to hear his brothers unspoken answer. '_I've been better.,_' Alex admitted mutely. Seeing Nicky's shocked expression he allowed himself a little grin. He too, had nearly forgotten that they could hear each others thoughts. However the brotherly moment was quickly shattered when they heard the by now familiar voice of their aunt.

"Aww, how sweet." Pulling away from each other they both snapped their heads in the direction of the voice in a similar motion. There, a few feet in front of them, stood their aunt Lara, smiling sweetly at them. Next to her, holding her hand in his own one, stood their uncle, Chris.

**Chris old apartment**

"... Jesse had dragged him away from Adrianna. He was just going crazy with anger. When Chris tried to keep in line, he went completely nuts and used his powers against him. If I hadn't interfered, Chris would be dead now.," Bianca explained, sending a glare towards the unconscious witch.

Wyatt groaned. "Not half an hour I was out of it and promptly everything goes south!"

He was sitting on the carpet next to his unconscious brother while Bianca filled him in on what had happened after he had passed out.

He let his gaze wander around the room when he suddenly noticed something. "Speaking of Jesse, where's he?"

At this, Bianca looked around, too. Seeing neither Jesse nor Anna, she got up and quickly checked the rest of the apartment. Nothing. Alarmed she returned to the living room.

"They are gone.," she informed Wyatt, inwardly cursing herself for not realizing sooner.

"Just great!," he huffed. "And what do we do now?"

**Streets of San Francisco**

A few hundred feet away Anna was asking her husband the same thing.

"That's a good question.," Jesse mused while he pulled his wife through various alleys. "We have to get Nicky somehow out of Lara's manor."

"But how? How in God's name are we supposed to pull that one off? Lara's a powerful witch, how are we even getting in the manor without the others?" Anna's voice held no hope.

Jesse stopped short and turned around and took his wife's face into his hands. "Listen to me, Anna.," he pleaded. "We can't count on them any longer to solve this problem. Wyatt is powerless, our Chris is bewitched, his past version is injured, Benji's going crazy, Adrianna is dead and Bianca... well, it's none of her business. The twins mean nothing to her, they are not related to her. We are on our own now."

Anna swallowed thickly and nodded. "So, what are we going to do?"

Jesse was pulling her already along again. "We need a plan... and a few other things to free Nicky."

"So?"

Her husband smiled grimly. "So, we first need to make a stop at one of the old resistance shelters."

**The boys bedroom**

Nicky's eyes widened as he recognized their uncle.

"Chris," he and his brother said in sync.

"Missed me?," the brown haired man smiled at them.

At this moment, it didn't matter that he was under a love spell, didn't matter that their aunt was watching, didn't matter that Nicky was a 14-year-old for crying out loud! Before he knew it, he was up and flung himself into Chris arms, tightly holding on to his protector, his guardian angel, his only connection to his former life.

Chris crouched down and held Nicky close to his chest. The kid wasn't hurt. Relief washed over him. When Jesse had told him about the demon kidnapping his nephew he had been honestly afraid for the boy's safety. Demons weren't famous for handling their prey with kid gloves, but apparently Nicky had been lucky.

Seeing his twin standing a mere foot away, looking self-conscious at his brother and uncle in front of him, Chris flashed him a reassuring smile and grabbed his arm to pull him in close, too. Alex stiffened a bit before he too relaxed into the embrace.

Chris then looked at Lara who appeared to be a bit uneasy and mouthed "I'll give you some private time.," at him before quietly making an exit.

Satisfied, he pulled away a bit to get a better look at his nephews. It was the first time since they were babies that they stood together in front of him. He bit back the guilt that was threatening to swallow him at that thought. After all, it was his doing that they got separated. The resemblance of the twins was still baffling, but Chris couldn't help but grin at their obvious disagreement in the field of styling.

That earned him a double "What?" from his nephews.

"Nothing," he chuckled lightly. "It's just good to see you two back together again."

Neither of the brothers knew how to react to that.

"So," Nicky started. "How are my parents?"

"And my mother?," Alex added quickly.

"They were ok when I saw them this morning." Chris tried to sound reassuring, knowing full well that things could have easily changed in the last few hours. "Of course, they were overtired and going crazy with worry, but given the situation I think that's normal."

The two teens exchanged a quick look before Alex admitted "Yeah, we thought so."

For a while no one said anything. The twins desperately wanted to press for more information. They wanted to ask their uncle how they would get out of here, how they were supposed to rescue their biological father and get back to their adoptive parents, but the insecurity whether they could still trust their uncle or not was just too big. After all he was under a love spell. Would he help them or betray them to Lara? Probably the latter. They realized as long as he was enchanted they were on their own.

So, after some more small-talk their uncle stood up and left, promising to return as soon as lunch was ready.

When he was gone and they had time to think things through they both realized boiling hot the mistake they made sooner.

They looked to the couch table where they had left the things for moving the glass. It was empty.

Nicky stared confused at the table. Turning to his twin he then asked: "Hey, did you put the items on the table away?"

"No, didn't you?"

"No." Nicky shook his head.

Alex furrowed his brows. "Then who did it?" Then an idea hit him. "Oh God, please don't let it be Lara!"

Nicky made a dismissing gesture with his hand while he began searching for the items. "I think if it were her she would have throttled us by now!"

Alex shot his brother a nasty look. "Way to calm me down!" When he too looked around the room he noticed something half hidden behind the couch. "What's that?"

"What's what?"

Instead of an answer, Alex just pointed toward the spot.

Nicky crouched down and shoved his hand in a small gap between the wall and the couch. He pulled out the sheet, the glas and the pen. Perplexed he looked at his twin. "Huh. I really do start to believe we have some sort of guardian angel."

"Well, let's get it started," Alex mumbled. "Before they'll come back."

"Ok," Nicky breathed. Hesitantly he put his index finger on the rim of the glass, his brother mimicking his action. Both their hands were trembling slightly. Nicky realized that Alex was just as nervous as him, although he was better at concealing it. Apart from his hands and the look in his eyes, his face was a blank mask. Nicky suddenly wished that he could be just as good at hiding his feelings as his brother was. He didn't like the fact that his face was always an open book. If Alex had read his musings, he didn't show it. "Ready?," he asked.

"As ready as I can get."

"Good." Alex took a deep breath. "Mom? Are you with us?"

They both held their breath. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then it seemed as if the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped a few degrees. The twins started shivering. Inch by inch, the glass began to move. Nicky felt his eyes nearly pop out of his sockets. The glass stopped on "yes". The boys glanced at each other.

"Oh my God!," Nicky breathed. They were talking, no, _communicating_ with their real mum! Or her ghost, for that matter. He could feel Alex letting his eyes travel around, as if he expected her to be standing in the room all of a sudden.

The glass started moving again.

"Mum, what?," Nicky gasped.

U-P

"Up?" Alex looked confused. "What are you trying to tell us?"

S-T-A-I-R-S

"Upstairs?," Nicky concluded. "Upstairs where?"

One moment later, there was a knock on the door.

"Boys?" It was their uncle Chris.

"Shit!," Alex cursed. "Sorry mum." In a hurry, he grabbed the sheet and the glass and stuffed both behind the couch again while Nicky blew out the candle.

"Can I come in?," their uncle asked.

After also putting the candle away they both jumped on the nearest bed. "Sure.," they said in unison.

The door opened and Chris walked in. He stopped short in his tracks. "Do I smell smoke?"

Nicky's head shot panicked to his brother. However, Alex was cool as a cucumber. "Yeah," he answered casually while he grabbed Nicky's hand and pressed it just a little too hard. "I demonstrated Nicky my pyrokinesis."

"Oh, yeah?," Chris asked as he looked at them with an I-know-exactly-when-you're-lying-expression. Luckily he let it slide. "Come on now, lunch is ready." With that he shooed them out of the room.

**Lara's dining room, lunch time**

'_Upstairs._'

Nicky shot his brother a questioning look. '_Huh?_'

Alex flinched. '_Sorry, I just don't know what mum wanted to tell us. Upstairs where?_'

The other boy furrowed his brows. '_No idea, but maybe uncle Chris would know. You think we should ask him?_'

Alex rolled his eyes. '_Sure, if we can get him and Lara to stop bill and coo long enough. BTW, I think it would be better if our dear auntie would stay oblivious to our speculations._'

'_Then we should figure out a way to ask him without getting her suspicious._'

'_Any idea how we gonna do that?_'

Nicky grinned. '_Guess we have to be sneaky - and choose the direct way._'

Before his sibling could protest, Nicky asked: "Hey, what's upstairs?"

His aunt and uncle stopped gazing into each others eyes and shot him a wary look. "Upstairs?"

Nicky nodded. "Yes, upstairs. Is there an attic above us?"

Chris relaxed. "Oh, and I thought you meant UPSTAIRS." Seeing Alex confused look, he added: "The heavens, elderland."

Alex shot him a confused look. "Elders?"

Lara mimicked his actions as she also glanced at Chris. "They don't know about the elders?"

"I do.," Nicky piped up.

Chris face suddenly became hard. "I think the elders are something we'd all like to forget!"

Now Nicky was confused. "Why? I thought they were the former forces of good?"

His uncle snorted. "They were a bunch of hypocritical self-righteous bastards, who only cared about the maintenance of their own power!"

"Whoa, what did they do to piss you off?," Alex asked.

Instead of giving him a direct answer, Chris let his eyes slowly travel to his twin. "Did Jesse tell you that I went to the past?"

Nicky nodded. His uncle didn't turn his intensive stare away from him. "Did he tell you why?"

The teen felt a lump form in his throat. I felt incredibly uneasy when he remembered the stories of his father's doing. He forced himself to answer. "Because you wanted to stop your brother from killing people."

Chris nodded sadly. "Yeah, I thought he was in danger. I thought something evil got to him when he was a child." He let out a bitter laugh. "And I was right. But guess what? It wasn't a demon that turned him – it was an elder!"

Lara looked surprised at him. "But why would an elder want to turn him evil?"

"He didn't want to turn him, he wanted to kill him.," Chris deadpanned. "The result was a trauma that let my brother loose his faith in anything good."

The twins were speechless. At least for a while.

"But why would an elder want to murder an innocent child?," Nicky asked, finding his voice again. How could someone who was supposed to be a source of good be so cold hearted and cruel?

"Power.," Chris replied – and boy couldn't he sound any more bitter. "Wyatt was a threat to the elders power. He was able to challenge them."

Lara's gaze had hardened, too. "I guess Wyatt was right. It really is all about power."

They ate in silence for a while.

Then Alex dared to ask: "What happened to the elders?"

Chris gave him a pointed look. "Your father killed them. He went upstairs into their realm with some of his darklighters in tow and vanquished them. Some managed to escape. Over the years, he hunted them all down, one by one."

Alex couldn't help but wonder what his father would do to Lara once he was free.

His brother had heard his thoughts. '_Hmmm... given what she has done to him? I guess a slow painful death would be an act of mercy._'

The teenager suppressed a shudder. He thought of his last encounter with his dad in the dream realm. '_Jeez, remind me again not to tick him off._'

Then the two realised that they had been too silent so that both their aunt and uncle now eyed them wary.

Nicky rushed to fire another question. "So, what's now up there?"

This time it was his aunt who answered. "Nothing. The chambers are empty. The clouds have turned into grey fog. A few scorch marks are left here and there."

Chris eyed her suspicious. "How do you know that?"

Lara bit her lip. Shoot. She shouldn't have let this information slip. "Because I've been there."

"Why?"

The black haired witch eyed her lover carefully, contemplating whether to lie or not. An intense look into his soul searching eyes convinced her that lying was out of the question. He would immediately call her on it. But she couldn't tell him the truth either. Lara had noticed the way his eyes had flashed with burning anger when he talked about the man who wanted to kill Wyatt. Love spell or not, he wouldn't react positive on what she had done to his beloved big brother. Finally she decided it would be better if she told him another truth instead.

"Why?," she echoed in a "isn't that obvious" voice. "After the..." She paused with a look at the twins. "After the 'event' all of you were gone. I couldn't find you anywhere. I was sick with worry!"

Chris looked apologetic at her. "I'm so sorry, love."

Lara nodded, then she went on. "I went upstairs in search of a way to find you. I thought if the elders could spy on the world, then I could use the thing they used to spy to look for you."

Nicky and Alex shared a quick look.

"Did you find the spy glass?," Alex asked, trying not to sound too eager.

Thankfully Lara concentrated on Chris as she answered. "It isn't a spy glass – it's a seeing pool. But no, apparently you need whitelighter powers to find it."

"I thought you needed whitelighter powers to get up there in the first place?," Chris asked. Lara was a really powerful witch, but she wasn't half whitelighter like him.

The queen shrugged. "The barrier to keep intruders out broke with the death of the elders."

The twins shared another look.

'_Do you think what I think?,_' Nicky asked his brother telepathically.

Alex eyes sparkled. '_Yeah, not only do we know where to look, we may have just found a way to find dad._'

**Lara's bedroom, early evening**

"I love you so much." Lara murmured as she devoured Chris mouth. After spending the whole afternoon with the twins she was now glad to get some 'grown up time' with her lover.

"Yeah, I love you too." Chris smiled and returned her passionate kisses.

He then hooked his arms under her thighs and lifted her up. She giggled surprised and let him carry her over to her bed.

Suddenly, Chris bumped against something and they both fell forward landing heavily on the bed.

"What the..." Chris started and stopped their out making, searching with his eyes for the thing that had caused him to stumble. His jaw dropped when he relalized it was a craddle.

"What the hell is this?", he asked when he withdrawed from Lara to take a closer look at the tiny bed at the front part.

Lara, who was frustrated at the interruption, clacked annoyed with her tongue. "Isn't it obvious?"

Chris turned irritated to her. "Of course it is. But why would you have a cradle in your room?"

The black haired witch fought the urge to roll her eyes at her lover. Chris was so naive sometimes!

Deciding to play it cool, she tucked seductively at his pants. "Well, our junior will need a place to sleep, now won't he?"

If she thought that this would calm him down, then she was wrong!

"Junior?!," Chris echoed dumbfounded. "Is that why you wanna sleep with me?! To get pregnant?!"

Shaking his head, he stood up and began searching for his shirt.

Now it was Lara's turn to be irritated. "What are you doing?"

Chris didn't look at her as he lifted his shirt up from the ground and began to pull it over his head. "I think it would be better if you'd gave me my own room to sleep in."

Getting more frustrated by the second, Lara finally stood up. "Why would you say such a thing? Don't you want a child with me? I thought you loved me?"

Chris held his hands up in surrender. "Of course I love you. But, a child? Now?" He shook his head. "I can't..."

"You can't what?," Lara asked.

He shook his head once more.

"I can't be a father!," he finally blurted out.

Now Lara was completely confused. "Why not? I've seen you today with the twins. You love kids. Why don't you want some of your own?"

"That's different!" Chris declared as he started pacing tle room like a caged animal. "It wasn't my decision to conceive them, but Wyatt's and Isabelle's. I didn't ask to be an uncle! I mean, of course I love them! They are my nephews for Gods sake! But I'm... let's be honest: As a parent I'm a complete flop!"

"That's not true!"

"It isn't?" Chris stopped in front of her and she could clearly see the pain in his beautiful jade eyes. "I screwed up with the twins, I completely and utterly screwed up!"

She took his hand in hers, still not understanding. "What are you talking about? They are fine."

"Not my doing.," he muttered. "I did everything wrong. Instead of keeping them with me, I split them up and gave them away. As a result, they barely know anything about their magic, much less about their family."

'_Bad for them, good for me.,_' Lara thought. But she wisely kept her mouth shut and concentrated on Chris rambling.

"And it's all my fault! I abandoned them because I was too weak! I was drowning in my grief and self-pity. I was unable to take care of anybody."

The queen sighed inwardly. She knew that Wyatt's "death" had hit Chris hard. "It's ok to be weak sometimes.," she tried to comfort him.

But he was having none of it. "No. I was the adult. They needed me and I let them down." Chris gave a short bitter laugh. "That seems to be my fate. I let down the people I love. I couldn't help my mom, I got my fiancée killed, I couldn't save my brother and your sister, I couldn't care for my nephews and I even ran from you! I can't make anything right! So, tell me: What gives you the idea I would do better with my own child?"

By now he looked so lost and desperate that Lara couldn't help but feel bad for him. And she also couldn't ignore the little voice inside her head telling her that it was partly her fault that he now suffered like this.

Gently, she pulled him into a soothing embrace.

"I can't be a father.," he repeated quietly while leaning his head against hers. "I never really had one. My own father had time for anybody but me. I just don't know how to raise a child."

"Don't you think we could figure it out?," she asked as she softly caressed his back.

"I don't know.," he replied unsure.

She sighed. When she had imagined being with Chris she didn't think it would be like this. He always seemed to be so strong, she didn't think he could hold so many issues and doubts. Then again, it made perfect sense. Being abandoned by most of his family, unintentionally or not, Chris had to grow up alone and fast. As hard as that had made him – it had also left him with traumas he didn't know how to get rid off.

It was beginning to dawn on Lara that she would need a lot of patience and convincing to achieve her goals.

Well, she had already waited 13 years, a few days or weeks wouldn't make a difference, would they?

"_I just had to choose a love potion that would come as naturally as possible!_", she thought somewhat annoyed.

Then again she wanted his love as pure as it could possibly be under the circumstances.

Letting it slide for now, she slowly pulled her love with her to her bed again. When she noticed the slight panic in his eyes, she started to soothe him.

"Everything's going to be ok, my love. We are together now – nothing else matters. We'll have plenty of time to practise our parenting skills by raising our nephews. And I'm sure in time you'll realize what a great dad you are and then..."

"We could start our own little family?," Chris finished smiling gratefully at her as he laid down next to her and gently rubbed her stomach.

***

Later that evening Chris let out a mute sigh of relief after he had closed the bathroom door behind him. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold this act up.


	29. Chapter 28: How are we going to get in?

_Finally, after four long months I'm back again! I'm so sorry for the long wait. I promise the next update won't take nearly as long. Thanks for the reviews and story alerts. XD_

**Chapter twenty-eight****: How are we going to get in there?**

**Graveyard, San Francisco**

"Your shelters were on graveyards?," Anna asked incredulously.

"Of course not!," Jesse replied while the two of them were sneaking around on a tiny cemetery behind an old church in one of the poorer parts of San Francisco. On their way there they had seen the latest news on one of the large holoscreens that hung all over the city. Apparently the queen intended to give a big press conference this evening. "They were **under** the graveyards."

That stopped Anna dead in her tracks. "Under the graveyards?," she echoed. "Why would anyone live below dead people – or on the same level for that matter?"

"Because to your enemies, you're just as invisible.," Jesse explained while he grabbed Anna's wrist and pulled her towards a small mausoleum to their left. "Graveyards are a perfect hiding place for many supernatural creatures. Ghouls, ghosts, vampires, demons, sometimes even zombies... these places are practically busting with supernatural energy! It's too much to detect anything specific."

Anna understood. "You were hiding in the mass."

"Exactly."

They had reached the mausoleum. By the looks of it, the thing was at least 50 years old. Like in the most parts of San Francisco, the magical war had left its marks here, too. The mausoleum was, like many of the tombstones around, black with scorch marks and partly destroyed. Grass, moss and ranks grew everywhere. The iron lattice hang partly out of its ankles. Jesse pulled it carefully open and gestured for his wife to get in. Taking a deep breath – and reminding herself that she was doing this for Nicky – the woman banned the disgusted expression from her face and stepped into the small room. Her husband took a moment to reassure himself that no one had seen them and slipped also into the mausoleum.

On the left were several slabs with epitaphs. "And now what?," Anna asked, trying to stay calm. "Do we have to..." She gestured toward the slabs hiding the coffins in the wall. "...crawl through one of them?"

Jesse actually laughed. "You've seen too many movies." He then went to the end of the room and... disappeared!

"Jesse?" Anna stepped slowly to the spot where she'd last seen her husband. Then she realized that there was a small gap between the left wall and the next one. From the entrance, it was impossible to see. Carefully she pressed herself through the gap and saw Jesse standing in a tiny passage way between the backside of the tombstone wall and the outer wall. In his hands he held an old flashlight and stood with his back to a pair of stairs that reached into the ground.

**The twins bedroom**

"Well, that has been an interesting lunch.," Alex deadpanned once Lara and Chris had brought them back to their room and left them to themselves. As Lara had explained to them she and Chris would be busy preparing a press conference where she planned to inform the whole magical community of the return of the twins. The whole affair was supposed to take place this evening. 'And tomorrow we will throw a big homecoming party for the two of you to reintegrate you in society.,' she had chirped. 'Won't that be fantastic?' Alex grimaced at the thought. He had never been a party animal. "Wonder how dinner will go?," he muttered.

Nicky rubbed his full belly. "Hopefully they won't serve 5 meals again."

His brother shook his head in amusement. "How can one person eat so much?"

"Hey, I'm still a growing boy! Besides, it has spared me the joy of having to watch our two love birds!"

"True." Their aunt had actually had the nerve to feed Chris and seal nearly every bite with a kiss. Alex shuttered at the memory. He himself had only managed to choke a few bites down. He had simply been too excited to concentrate on his food. His thought had gone into overdrive after Lara's story about the seeing pool – and slowly a plan had started to form in his head.

"So, seems like we've found a way to find dad." Nicky, who had obviously listened to his brother's thoughts, stated.

"Yeah, now we just have to figure out how to get out of here."

**Chris old ****apartment**

Benji was getting worse. During the last hours he had developed a fever and was tossing and turning constantly in his comatose sleep.

Wyatt sat beside him on the couch. Though he knew it was probably useless, he kept cooling Benji's forehead with a wet wash cloth. Bianca's power sucking virus sure was effective. Chris had suffered through the same thing. Because of** him**. Because **he** had ordered it. Wyatt tried to suppress the guilt he was feeling.

"How is he?"

The blond witch half turned around to find Bianca lingering in the doorway. After Wyatt had lifted his brother up and carried him over to his bedroom he and the phoenix witch had agreed that she stayed with him while Wyatt took care of his brother-in-law. Bianca seemed to be calm, but the moist glint in her eyes betrayed her emotions. Wyatt had never liked her much and he liked the fact that she was dating **his** little brother even less. Chris was too good for her. Nevertheless he had to admit that she truly loved him. He didn't know whether to be glad about it or annoyed.

"Getting worse.," he answered honestly. "What about Chris?"

Judging by her darkening expression, he half wished he hadn't asked.

"I'm not getting a reaction out of him. If it wasn't for his breathing one could think that he`s ..." She couldn't finish the sentence as her throat suddenly went dry.

They both spend the next few minutes in silence.

Finally, Wyatt couldn't take it any longer. He tossed the wash cloth back into the water bowl on the nearby table and marched over to the front door.

"Where are you going?," Bianca asked surprised as she followed him.

"I'm going to search for Jesse and Anna."

As he turned to open the door she gripped his forearm. "You don't know where they went. You have no powers. If I'm letting you go now, you'll get killed." Not that it would have bothered her.

He ripped his arm out of her grip. "I know what I'm doing!," he snarled.

She grabbed his arm again. "You'll stay here!"

He was practically in her face. "Are you giving me orders now?"

They stared at each for a few moments before she slowly backed off. "Chris is going to kill me for this."

"Chris is too weak to even move his eyelids.," Wyatt deadpanned. Seeing her look he added calmer. "Look, I have a pretty good idea where they are headed. I'm going to bring them back and see if I can get us some help. You stay here and watch our two patients. I'm afraid that the dead assassin won't be the last head hunter coming after us." And with that he was out of the door.

**Resistance ****stronghold**

"So, how are we going to get in there?," Anna asked as she and her husband mused over old city maps and construction sketches of the queen's manor.

"Won't be easy.," Jesse replied slowly. "The whole building probably has magical shields to prevent anyone from getting in. So we either have to come from underground or..."

"Underground?" Anna stared at him questionably.

"As powerful as magical shields are, usually they only reach to the ground."

"I see. And the second option?"

Jesse shrugged. "Would be to open a portal into the manor."

"But how are we going to do that without magical powers? Besides, won't the shields prevent any portal within their grasp from opening?"

"The magical part won't be the problem. We just need someone who does have powers, but we don't need to have the powers ourselves."

Anna bit her lip. "Maybe we should have asked that Bianca to come with us."

Jesse shot her an annoyed look. "We don't need her. We can use a potion and put a few drops of witch blood in it. That should do the trick."

"Do you know how to make such a potion? Besides, where do you wanna get witch blood from?"

"That's why I wanted to come here. When the resistance broke apart they luckily had enough common sense to leave the shelters intact. After all, you never know when the time comes that you may need them again. The ingredients and a spell book should still be here."

Anna looked adoringly at her husband. "And here I thought you were an _inactive_ member of the resistance!"

Jesse blushed. "I was – but that doesn't mean I didn't pick up as much as I could from my brothers and sisters in arms."

She came over and gave him a long kiss. "My hero," she whispered in awe.

He blushed even more. "We should start with the potion.," he mumbled and carefully entangled himself from her.

She reluctantly let go off him. "Do you really think we'll get him back?"

He smiled at her. "I do. Fate's on our side.," he spoke with conviction.

"What gives you that idea?"

His smile broadened. "The press conference. It will be an ideal diversion. It will give us the time to get the kids and they will have to lower the security to let the press in."

"Lara seems to be very sure of herself."

"She has the twins, she has Chris and she has Wyatt. She's got everything she wanted and the head hunters are out searching for us. She thinks she can't lose."

Anna gave him a grim smile. "Well, I'll be damned if we won't teach her otherwise!"

**Streets of San Francisco**

"All about our Queens latest proclamation tonight on our special report live at the royal manor at 8 p.m. ..."

Wyatt had made sure to stay carefully hidden in the shadows while he watched the news on the holoscreen. So, Lara was intending to give a large press conference tonight at her manor. It was the perfect opportunity to get to his boys – and into a trap!

**Resistance ****stronghold**

"You got the potions ready, honey?"

Jesse held up several potions, beaming at his wife. "Yeah, if we use the sewage system to get under the manor, this one will teleport us directly through the ground into the cellar. Then we'll use the lock pick to open the old laundry shaft. That way, we should be able to make it to the second floor without getting into the view of the security cameras and probes or setting off the magic detectors."

"So far, so good."

"Then we'll have to be quick. The bedrooms are on the fourth floor. We have to get there and find them as fast as possible. Once we got them, we'll have to reach the first open window we can find and get on the roof. There we can use this potion to teleport us out of the manor."

Anna was nervous. "What about the demon guards? They will try to stop us."

Jesse pressed a few vials into her hand. "These are some of the most powerful vanquishing potions we had at the resistance. I found them in the safe together with the spell book."

"But Lara doesn't have only demon guards, does she? There are also human ones. What about them?"

Jesse hesitated for a few seconds before he gave her a gun. "You know how to handle this thing, don't you? When we first met you tried to shoot me." He flashed her a brief smile at the memory, then looked long and hard at her. "We gotta do what we have to do to get our son back."

Anna eyed the gun in her hand for a long moment, then took a deep breath and looked deadly calm at her husband. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

**The twins bedroom**

"You know, I've thought."

Nicky shot his brother a look. That was the understatement of the year! They had spent the last few hours racking their brains over a possibility to get out this place. Their aunt and uncle had appeared briefly with a trolley full of sandwiches, cakes and other titbits, informing them that the press conference would start soon and they therefore regrettably didn't have time for a decent family dinner.

Alex ignored him and went on. "I gotta go and help dad get out of this mental labyrinth, first. I mean even if we manage to get out of here and find him he'll still be useless to us if we don't get him to wake up."

"You have a point.," Nicky mused. Suddenly they heard a loud bang in the hallway.

"What the heck...," Alex started as the door busted open and in rushed a dirty and dishevelled looking Jesse and Anna.

"Mum? Dad?" Nicky gaped open mouthed at his adoptive parents "What are you..."

"We don't have time for explanations! We need to get you and your brother out of here, now!," Jesse interrupted while he grabbed Nicky's arm and started to tuck him out of the room. At the same time Anna had taken hold of Alex hand and pulled him along.

As fast as they could without breaking into a run, the four of them sneaked out into the hallway.


	30. Chapter 29: What are you doing here?

_Hi, here's the next chapter. Sorry for the long wait and thanks for your patience. Also a big thanks to all who reviewed and/or added this fanfic to their story alert._

**Chapter twenty-nine****: What are you doing here?**

**Lara's manor**

"Come on you two, we don't have much time.", Anna whispered while she and Jesse pulled the twins along the many hallways and not for the first time she was glad that her husband had insisted on memorizing the blueprints of the manor. When they had snug out of the laundry shaft - and killed at least three demons on their way to the twins (Anna tried not to remember the two human guards that also got in the way) – she and Jesse had noticed a window going out to a canopy which provided the perfect opportunity to use the transporting potions. They just had to get down one more floor, just one more...

"Ahh!" Startled, she whirled around to find her husband leaning against the wall, panting heavily as he held onto a nasty looking flesh wound on his right shoulder, caused by what looked like an energy ball.

"You're next, bitch!," the demon who apparently had thrown it snarled as another one appeared in his hand.

Instinctively, she raised her arms to protect her face.

The demon guard was grinning maliciously – at least until someone shoved him forward and he collided with the wall. The energy ball in his hand was pressed against his chest, causing him to explode with a surprised scream.

Four mouths fell open when they recognized the person who had shoved him. Anna was the first one who found her voice again. "Wyatt? What are **you** doing here? How did you get in?"

"Let's just say it's practical being the former ruler of everything. One of my old servants helped me get in.," the blond witch replied smugly before he turned serious. "Anyway, we should get going. If we don't make it out of here, my Chris and Benji will be as dead as Adrianna.," he went on with a grim expression while he grabbed the twins hands and pulled them along. Anna supported a wounded Jesse as they trailed behind. But Alex started to struggle and ripped his hand out of his father's grasp. "What?"

Grudgingly Wyatt stopped and turned to face his son. They really didn't have time for this. "I'm sorry Alex. Lara has sent head hunters after us. Benji tried healing her, but..."

"No!" Hot tears of anger and despair burned down Alex cheeks as he shook his head in denial. His mother couldn't be dead, she just couldn't!

Anna and Jesse shot each other uncomfortable looks.

"Alex..." Wyatt started to go over to his son, but the kid backed away.

Nicky rubbed his aching temples. His brother's mind was practically screaming in pain, causing him a headache. Pity and rage pulsed through him in waves. He wanted nothing more than to soothe his sibling and make his so called aunt pay for the pain she had caused him by murdering the only mother Alex had ever known. Unfortunately, now wasn't the time to do either thing. He looked at his twin and he knew that he had heard him. He reached out to his brother, silently begging him to come with him. To both their surprise, Alex let him grab his hand and let himself be pulled toward him.

At this moment, more demon guards came around the corner. Wyatt let out a string of curses that would have put a sailor to shame.

However, the demons didn't get far as they soon found themselves at the receiving end of the wrath of two teenage witches. With a simple blink of their eyes, the twins sent a fire explosion their way, burning them all in a matter of seconds before they could even reach them.

Impressed, Wyatt stared at his sons. They were so young and they were already unbelievably powerful. No wonder Lara wanted them so badly – their potential was thrilling! With a bit practice... Absently, he noted Nicky's adoptive parents gaping at them. It was as if only now they had realised what they had agreed to when they took in a witch child. Stupid mortals!

For once, Wyatt's voice was gentle and his chest was swelling with pride as he went over to his boys and coaxed them to get going.

**Chris old ****apartment**

Unwillingly, Bianca was cooling Benji's fevered forehead with the wash cloth. She would have rather stayed with Chris, but there wasn't anything she could do for him. She just hoped that Wyatt would be able to find them help.

The phoenix witch couldn't reign in the bitter laugh at that thought. If someone had told her months ago, that she would put her hope in the bad-ass ruler of all evil she would have shipped him off to the loony bin. But now...

She was pulled out of her musings when she realized that Benji was awake. His fever bright eyes were huge, his pupils blown. He stared at her with an apologetic expression. "Hey," His voice was barely a whisper.

"Hey yourself."

He stared long at her. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"Forget it." Although she was still angry at him, she knew no wasn't the best time to argue. He was already weak enough.

"No, " he rasped. "I should have been able... to save you. It's entirely my fault."

"Save me?" What was he talking about? And then it clicked. He wasn't seeing her. He was seeing Adrianna. The fever was causing him hallucinations.

"You did all that you could."

He shook his head. "I never should have burdened you with his care."

Was he talking about Alex?

"I know what you were feeling for me. And I took advantage of it. I used you. To save Alex. I wish I could regret it. But you were such a good mother for him. You took such great care of him..., " he trailed off, panting harshly.

Bianca softly placed her index finger to his lips. "Hush." He still looked at her sadly. She bit her lip, wondering whether to play along or not. Finally, the pity overpowered her anger. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I love Alex like he was my own child. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

He smiled. Then his eyes closed.

**Lara's manor**

They had made it to the second floor without any further trouble.

"There's the window.," Anna exclaimed as she spotted their portal to freedom.

"Thank God!," Jesse murmured softly. A few more steps and they would be able to disappear.

Anna smiled warmly at him. "Come on, honey. Just a few more steps. It will all be over soon." The red haired demon chose this moment to appear and blocked their escape route. "Or not.," she finished frustrated.

He grinned evilly at them. "I have to admit," he started. "for a bunch of lousy mortals, you have been very annoying. But did you honestly think you would be able to steal what's Lara's possession? Please!" He rolled his eyes. Behind him, more guards shimmered in, surrounding them.

At that declaration, Alex temper flared up. "We don't belong to anybody!," he snarled. Jesse and Anna flinched involuntary.

Jerek let his gaze flicker for a moment towards the little brats. "I strongly suggest that you two step aside. Your aunt wouldn't be pleased if you would get hurt in the process." "_Mainly because that would upset Chris.,"_ he added sourly in his thoughts. If it wasn't for that good for nothing witchlighter she couldn't care less. Apparently the little runt knew that, too. Instead of stepping aside, he shared a brief look with his brother. Next thing he knew, Jerek had to duck away as the twins started blowing and burning up the demons in front of them, while their adoptive parents started throwing potions and the blond man he had seen with Benji went over to hand combat.

"_Fine!,"_ Jerek thought. _"I guess we'll do it the hard way, then!"_

Grinning slyly, he took a look around the room to consider his options. Who should be the first? The kids were out of the question; Lara would kill him. The woman had a gun. Granted, bullets could hardly kill him, but they would hurt a lot. That left the two men. One had a nasty shoulder wound. He wasn't much of a threat; he could leave him to one of the guards. The other man was unarmed and therefore an easy target. Besides, he was the closest to him and stood in his way.

Jerek had picked his victim and attacked the blond man without warning. Having the element of surprise it wouldn't be very hard. Or so he thought. His opponent was apparently well trained and sidestepped his attack with the grace of a cat.

However he didn't have much room, considering they stood in a hallway with nearly two dozen demon and witch guards who were currently kept in check by Jesse, Anna and the twins. Still the evasive action had got him in a better position to defend himself.

Since Jerek was facing the same lack of space, he decided against using an energy ball. He didn't want to risk hurting himself accidently. So, he had to fight bare hand, which turned out to be a bad idea as the blond one was better at this than him. His easy target turned out to be more and more of a problem!

Finally, the red haired demon lost his patience and risked forming an energy ball. This weapon was deadly even at a short distance; however he had to open his guard for a moment in order to throw it.

Wyatt lost no time and with all the strength he could muster he punched the demon in the face.

Jerek flew backwards onto the ground; the energy ball came loose and hit a nearby witch, who exploded with a scream.

For a moment, the fighting stopped. The guards stared bemused at their leader, the twins and their adoptive parents in approval at Wyatt.

Then one of the other demons pounced on the man and the fight continued.

With great pleasure Jerek left his rebellious victim to one of the others and directed his attention to an easier target in order to gain back the control over the situation. Surely, the wounded man wouldn't be able to hold himself up against a demon for long.

But things usually never turn out the way you want them to.

When he lunged for Jesse, who was neither as experienced as Wyatt, nor had the space to sidestep him properly, the pain plagued man could only duck and raise his arms to protect his head.

But instead of beating the crap out of the weak mortal, he found himself in a brawl with Anna. The stupid woman was no match for him and his hand quickly found a way around her neck.

Suddenly, he was hit by something heavy and went tumbling down to the ground for the second time in a matter of minutes. Being afraid for her life, her husband had ignored the pain in his shoulder and had shoved him to the ground.

Now Jerek was starting to get extremely pissed off. Not even bothering to stand up he threw another energy ball towards the foolish mortal and hit him square in the chest.

However his satisfaction only lasted a few seconds as he soon found himself at the receiving end of the wife's wrath.

Anna hadn't been able to anything but watch in horror when the demon killed her beloved husband. The scream she had wanted to let out died on her lips. And then from one second to the other she got calm. Deadly calm. The rage within her took hold and she shot the demon repeatedly in the chest until she was out of ammo.

Jerek took a few moments to breathe through the burning pain the bullets had caused; then he got to his feet and faced the bitch. He was fed up! Not even bothering with the crowded space he formed another energy ball in order to throw it at her.

If the twins hadn't been busy fighting their attackers left and right, Nicky would have hardly just stood there and watched while Jerek killed his father. However when he registered the energy ball growing on the demon's palm to kill his mother, too, the young witch saw red.

The fresh memory of his father falling dead to the ground fuelled his powers as much as his fear for his mother's life. With a strength born out of desperation, he pushed the demon holding him by his throat away. The evil creature flew 2 meters through the air and collided painfully with his leader.

The next second, the wall near Jerek exploded. The detonation had so much power that everything that wasn't solid sailed through the air – Jerek included.

His energy ball came loose. It was a good thing that the shock wave had thrown Wyatt and the twins also off their feet, because the thing smashed into the wall behind them. On instinct, they covered their heads with their arms to protect themselves from flying fragments. When they dared to look up again they stared at a big hole where only seconds ago the window used to be.

For a few moments nobody moved, until Anna scrambled to her feet and made a dash for the hole. Quickly catching on, Wyatt and his sons also stood up, wanting to use the opportunity to teleport themselves out of danger.

However their plans were thwarted when one of the remaining guards got a hold of Alex ankle and pulled him to the ground.

"Alex!" His brother and father whirled around to help him, but Anna, not wanting to miss their only chance to get away, grabbed Nicky while simultaneously pushing Wyatt through the hole.

Having heard the fighting noises and the explosion, Chris and Lara meanwhile had hastily abandoned the press conference and came now running around the corner, just in time to watch Anna pull Nicky with her through the hole in the wall, grab hold of Wyatt's arm and throw the teleporting potion on the ground outside the inner shields.

Jerek made a dash to stop them, but was thrown across the room by Alex, who in the meantime had knocked the guard out with a piece of the wall and now turned his head towards his brother.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Anna, Nicky and Wyatt wavered like a fata morgana before they vanished into thin air.

Lara stood there shell shocked. _"No!,"_ she thought. No this was impossible. It couldn't be Wyatt. It just couldn't be him!

Beside her, Chris took one look at the extremely pissed of Jerek who seemed ready to rip Alex apart and sent a telekinetic wave at him that threw the demon back into the furthest wall. Before she could react, he had crossed the small space between him and his nephew.

Then Jerek, who looked like he had been run over by a train, heaved himself off the ground, probably to kill Chris with his bare hands, and Lara knew she had to put a stop to this in an instant.


	31. Chapter 30: What's the plan?

_Hi guys, sorry for the long wait and happy New Year! Wanted to post this a bit sooner but waited for my beta. However she's busy at the moment, so this one I will have to post without her help, sorry._

**Chapter thirty: What's the plan****?**

**Lara's manor, hallway**

"You God damn son of a …" Jerek was about to body slam the pesky witchlighter into the ground and beat the living shit out of him when the sharp voice of his mistress cut through the haze of blind fury that controlled his actions.

"Jerek! You will stop this behavior this instant!" Only getting started, she whirled around to her boyfriend. "And you! What did you think you were doing?"

Chris look darkened and he wrapped an arm protectively around the kid's shoulders. "I thought I was protecting OUR nephew from getting killed by YOUR apparently gone crazy minion!"

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Lara's heated glance wandered from him to Alex who glared back at her. "YOU! To the living room! Now!"

Before his nephew could come up with an angry retard that would probably get him even more in trouble, Chris quickly beamed the two of them to the living room.

Lara followed with Jerek trudging after her like a kicked puppy.

"Ok," she seethed once she got there. "I'm trying to be civil, so you better start talking this instant! What was going on there? Who were these people? Where did they take your brother? And what in the devil's name did you do to my house and my staff?"

If she had thought that Alex would be intimidated by her rage, she was plain wrong.

"I won't tell you God damn bitch a bloody thing!"

Chris gaped shocked at his nephew. "Alex!"

"She's a fucking murderer! She has sent head hunters after my mother! She has gotten her killed! Her fucking pet has killed Nicky's dad! I'll kill her!"

The next thing she knew, she had to jump out of the way to avoid a blaze of fire coming toward her.

"How dare you?" She was about to use her own powers to teach the brat the lesson of his life time when Chris interfered. "No!"

He quickly grabbed Alex from behind and pinned his arms, restraining him effectively. "Let me go!" The boy tried his best to break free and Chris held on for dear life, knowing how dangerous a physical quarrel with Lara would be for his nephew. He half turned him away from her, putting himself in the line of fire.

"Chris, get out of the way!"

Her boyfriend looked pleadingly at her. "Lara please! He's just child. Alex, stop it!" He screamed desperately, tightening his hold on the kid.

After a few more struggles, Alex went still in his arms, probably having tired himself out. In his mind, Chris said a quick prayer to whoever was listening.

Loosening his grip however turned out to be a bad idea, as Alex suddenly broke free, kicked Lara hard in the shin and ran out of the room.

Aghast, Chris made his way over to a swearing Lara, who looked ready to commit murder. "Baby, are you ok? Does it hurt much?"

"No, damn it. That brat is strong!" Grudgingly she let Chris pick her up and carry her over to the couch. After she was seated, he tenderly put her leg onto his lap, looking at the damage. The shin was going to bruise for sure. Quickly making up his mind he let the soft golden glow spread from his hand, healing her. "That better?," he purred.

"Very." She smiled at him, her voice not holding the slightest trace of anger.

He knew better, though. "We have to go easy on the kid."

"No Chris! He won't get away with that! I won't let anyone disrespect me like this!," Lara seethed.

She intended to go after him, but was held back by Chris forcefully. "He's just upset." As Lara opened her mouth for an angry retort he added: "Of course you're right. His behavior isn't tolerable. But let **me** talk to him. I don't want this to get physical. I hate to see either of you getting hurt."

Seeing Lara starting to falter Chris continued to press. "Please. I know him. Alex has a terrible temper, just like my brother. I don't want him to accidentally hurt you seriously. You're too precious to me my love." He kissed her long and deeply. "Please." He gave her his best puppy expression and let his lower lip tremble slightly. That did it! Lara was still furious with that ungrateful sprog, but it was hard to deny Chris anything when he was pleading with her like this. "Fine.," she caved. "Go talk to him." At least this way she got a chance to calm down somewhat. Being generous and forgiving would surely find Chris approval. At the same time, she would get the opportunity to check on Wyatt once more. The man she had seen couldn't be him, he just couldn't.

"Thank you." Chris smiled a breathtaking smile and kissed her once more. "I love you so much!" Another kiss. Damn it, being this seductive should have been declared illegal.

"You can repay me tonight.," she added as an afterthought. For a second she saw something flickering in his eyes, but then he blinked and it was gone.

"Alright, I'll go and try to get rid of the mess our precious little angels left us in. Jerek!" The queen then turned towards her minion.

"Yes, my lady?," Jerek asked trying to reign in his jealousy and anger as he solemnly gazed at Lara completely ignoring Chris.

"I'll go and take care of the press; let them know that one of the twins has been kidnapped by a bunch of dangerous criminals." Chris wisely kept his mouth shut. "I want you to first take care of the destruction and then go search for the traitors who took my nephew. Kill them and bring him back to me."

He went to his knees. "Yes, my lady."

"Oh, and Jerek?"

He glanced up again. "Yes?"

The next moment, a shock wave hit him full force and sent him crashing into the wall for the millionth time this evening. "You fail again you're dead, you got me?" She stared darkly at him daring him to contradict her. "Yes, my lady, I understand."

That being settled, she went away without a second glance.

Gritting his teeth he waited until she was out of earshot and got up again only to be slammed against the wall by a furious Chris. "Killing Jesse wasn't a part of the plan, Jerek!," the witch seethed.

The demon said nothing, just stared at him. Taking a deep breath, Chris let the matter go for now focusing on the more important things at hand. "Anyway, things are getting tense fast. We got to act soon. I'll go and get Alex ready. You on the other hand…" He pulled a small vial from his pocket and handed it over to Jerek. "…will take care of this chaos and then get the drinks ready. Put the love potion in one of them and push the spiked glass into my left hand when I call you."

The redhead eyed the potion in his hand suspiciously. "You're positive it will work?"

Chris flashed him a malicious smile. "Absolutely!"

**Lara's manor, ****the twins room**

"Alex?" Chris knocked gently on the door but stepped back when heard Alex throwing something against the inner side of the door. "GO AWAY!" The dark haired witch rubbed his aching temples. This was going to get ugly.

"Please buddy, let me come in." He waited a few seconds. When Alex didn't throw something else he carefully opened the door and slipped into the room.

There his nephew was, sitting on one of the beds with a pillow on his lap, which he pressed with a crushing force to his chest.

Chris thanked every power there was for not making him an empath; the pain radiating off his nephew would have otherwise hit him with the force of a wrecking ball.

He took a step towards him. Alex head shot up. His penetrating gaze seemed to pierce right through Chris. _"If looks could kill…"_ Well, in Wyatt's case, they actually could. The dark haired witch wondered for a moment whether the kid had inherited that power from his father, too. The degree of damage from the fight earlier was still fresh on his mind.

He brought his hands upward in a reassuring gesture, trying not to aggravate his already upset nephew.

"I'm not going to do anything to you." He slowly made his way over to the other bed and sat down. "Look…"

"If so much as try to defend her I swear to every God there is I'm going to rip your throat out!"

"_No Wyatt!" 15-year-old Chris screamed at his brother__, desperately trying to stop him from torturing the half dead hybrid demon girl for further information. "Please don't do this!"_

"_Chris, I swear to every God there is, if you don't shut up this instant I'm going to rip your throat out!" _

He flinched at the memory. God, Alex looked so much like his father in that moment, so much…

Swallowing hard, he tried again. "Alex..."

"No! She's a fucking bitch that murdered my mom. Both my moms. Got my father trapped in this bloody labyrinth, too, I bet. Kidnapped Nicky and me and now she's going to kill the rest of our families. Nicky's dad is already dead; Wyatt said that Benji and your younger self will soon be dead, too. She will send more head hunters to also kill Nicky's mom and Wyatt. She's going to destroy our whole family and you will just stand by and watch because of that freaking love spell she put you under!" Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks as he said this.

Chris heart constricted painfully at seeing the display of the kid's anguish.

It was time to lift his secret and put the boy out of his misery. "I'm not under a love spell." He deadpanned.

Alex wouldn't even meet his eyes. "Of course you are. You just don't realize it. But what you feel? That so called love? It isn't real. It's nothing but a lie."

"Yeah, you're right." Chris agreed. "It is a lie. It's my lie."

Alex looked at him confused. He went over to him, pulled him in his arms. Wiping away the tears on his cheeks, Chris started to explain.

_F__lashback_

_The demon panted like crazy. Inwardly, he cursed Jerek for ordering them to go after the mortal. "Easy as pie" He had said. "Yeah right," the demon thought. It sure as hell hadn't been easy. It had been suicide. Jerek apparently forgot to mention that the mortal was protected by Christopher. Fucking. Halliwell. Himself. _

_He spat blood on the carpet. Shit. The witch sure knew how to inflict as much pain as possible._

_Chris crouched down calmly in front of him._

"_You know, we can do this all night long." He once more pressed the hot poker on his thigh. The demon hollered in pain. Chris sighed. "Why won't you just tell me what I want to know?"_

_The demon hefted his blood shot eyes on him. "If I tell you, Lara's going to kill me."_

"_No.," Chris deadpanned. "You will day anyway. The question is..." he lifted the hot poker again. "How much pain can you bear before you die?" And with that he pressed the poker on his groin. "AAAAAHHHHH! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!"_

_Eyeing him expectantly he removed the poker._

_The little scum whimpered pathetically. _

"_Well?"_

"_Hello Jerek." Chris said cheerfully, startling the red head, causing him to drop the ingredients list for the potion._

_Chris snatched the sheet from the ground and quickly scanned it._

„_You!," the demon roared, sending an energy ball in his direction._

_The witchlighter didn't even bother to raise his hand. He halted the deadly weapon in midair by a mere glimpse."What's the matter Jerek? Doesn't Lara want me alive anymore?"_

_Jerek's face darkened._

_Chris grinned slightly. "Guess that's a no then."_

"_One day she will be tired of your rejection.," the demon sneered. "And when that day comes I will be the first to end you." he added in his thoughts._

_Chris threw a quick glance at the list in his hands. "I guess she already is. Otherwise she wouldn't have bothered to send you collecting ingredients for a love potion, right?" He waved the sheet in Jerek's direction. "Or is it YOU who's tired of rejection and has decided to take matters in his own hands?"_

_The red head was shaking with rage. "Why you little…" He lunged at Chris, who simply orbed out of the way and his nose kissed the floor board._

"_Now, is that a way to treat a future ally?," Chris chided, looking at him like he was a dog that misbehaved._

"_What?"_

_The witch smirked. "You heard right my salty friend, today is your lucky day! If you do as I say, I'll make all your dreams come true."_

"_You're lying!"_

"_Not at the moment." Chris strolled casually over to him. "I know you Jerek, I've seen the way you look at her.," he purred. "You want her and it kills you that your desire is unrequited." He dared laying a hand on the demon's shoulder. "But now you have the chance to bend things the way you like them. I'll help you with the potion. Once she takes it, she won't be able to resist you. She will give you everything you want. You will rule the magical community at her side. They will all bow to you." He used the words he had heard from his older brother so often in the first years after his taking over._

_Jerek had to admit it sounded very tempting. "What's in it for you?"_

_Chris looked earnestly at him. "My nephews. You brought them to her. Once she realizes they won't bend to her will, she will have them killed for sure, just like their parents.," he spat, bile rising in his throat at the memory of that night. He swallowed it down. "Bring me into the manor, help me get them back. I'll make a fake love potion. When she "tricks" me to drink it, I'll pretend to be under her spell. When the right moment comes, I'll slip her the real love potion. Then everything has to happen quickly. You will step into her line of sight so she will fall for you, meanwhile I'll get the twins and take them with me. We'll be out of your life and you can do everything you want."_

"_That sounds very alluring."_

"_So, we have a deal then?"_

_Jerek looked suspiciously at him. "How do I know you won't betray me?"_

_Chris smiled dangerously. "Because both of us have too much to lose to screw this up."_

"_Do you have it?"_

_Chris pulled a small vial from his pocket and held it out for Jerek to see. "Of course." The demon made a grab for it, but Chris held it quickly out of his range. "Not so fast. You will get it as soon as my nephews are safe."_

_Jerek glared mockingly at him. "What? Don't you trust me?"_

_Chris didn't even blink when he answered. "Not as far as I can throw you."_

"_It's going to be so weird... seeing the two of them together again.," Chris murmured as he and Lara quietly made their way into the twins' bedroom._

_They both stopped short in their tracks when they discovered their nephews sleeping huddled together on one of the beds._

_Against her will, Lara felt something warm in her chest. 'Damn it, must be the maternal instinct kicking in.,' she swore in her thoughts._

_However, playing her role as "Auntie Lara", she cooed: "Look at them. Aren't they just adorable?"_

_Chris who had meanwhile taken in the room felt his heart nearly jumping out his chest when he spotted the items on the couch table. If Lara turned around right now and saw that the kids would be in huge trouble!_

_Which seemed to be exactly what she was planning to do as her upper body twisted slowly in his (and the table's) direction. He had to stop her!_

_Without thinking, he put his arms around her waist and hugged her from behind, shielding the sight of the table with his body and turning her back to the twins._

_Lara was about to turn to Chris when she suddenly felt his strong arms wrap around her hugging her to him. It felt pretty good. Well, if he was in a cuddly mood, who was she to say no?_

_Turning in his arms, she pressed herself against his muscular chest and nuzzled his neck lovingly. "You know," she purred. "The couch is pretty cozy."_

"_No!," Chris nearly shrie__ked. "We can't do this in front of the kids.", he added in a calmer voice._

_Lara frowned. "They are asleep."_

"_Yes... but they could wake up!"_

_The queen chuckled softly. "I think we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." With that, she started to pull him to the couch, her back temporarily facing the table. But that would change as soon as they sat down!_

_Panicked, Chris used his strength to pull her back against his chest and crashed his lips passionately against hers. Lara was mildly surprised, but didn't resist. Chris used one of his arms to press her against the full length of his body, while he directed the items on the table telekinetically behind the couch with his other._

_The kiss intensified. 'Ok,' Chris thought. 'Better stop now before she gets any ideas. Question is how?'_

_He let his eyes travel around the room and finally came to a rest at his nephews. 'Sorry kids, time to wake up now.'_

_Carefully, he gestured one of the pillows to hit Alex in the face behind Lara's back._

_A gasp told him he had succeeded. Quickly, he broke the kiss and turned to face his nephews. Lara followed suit. Together they watched the twins share a brief moment of comfort before Lara cooed: "Aww, how cute."_

_end flashback_

Alex gaped at his uncle. "So, that was all a show? Why didn't you tell us? We were worried sick! We thought we had lost you for good!"

"I'm sorry.", though he didn't sound sorry at all. "But I couldn't. You had to believe it or otherwise Lara would have gotten suspicious." Chris stood up. "Look, I know you're angry at me right now, but this will have to wait. Time is running out. I can't keep this act up much longer and I need to get you to safety and then search for my brother."

"You're looking for dad?"

"Yes, and I need you to tell me the spell you and Nicky used to get into his dreams."

"What are you up to?"

"Nicky told Wyatt that you've seen him stuck in some kind of Labyrinth?"

"Yeah." Alex admitted. "It was horrible." He quickly filled his uncle in about what he had experienced. When he finished Chris gently stroked his cheek once. "Don't worry. I will get him out of there."

"How?"

"Right-hand-rule." Seeing Alex raised eye brows he added. "If you get stuck in a Labyrinth, you always go along the wall with your right hand. That way you will always get out."

"But before I can help him, I have to get you out of here first."

Alex stood up. "Ok, what's the plan?"


End file.
